Refugee
by 1-Artemis-Hunter-1
Summary: Gregor, now living in the Underland, must face the Prophecy of Bane while dealing with a distant Luxa, his blossoming relationship with Boots and his dad, as well as his own demons. Follows the actions of book 2 with a twist: Gregor is 18 and ran away from home. Sequel to Runaway, read first or be confused! Rated T for safety. Now complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Well hello all, wonderful to see you again. I just wanted to thank everyone who read _Runaway_ and reviewed, all the kind words made me so happy. Now we start part 2: _Refugee_. I got the idea from the motion Gregor is an immigrant of sorts to the Underland and now that he's arrived and sort of set up camp, he could be considered a refugee. I'll see if I can't keep this kind of theme through the series.**

 **For anyone new, please read _Runaway_ before you continue or you'll be fairly confused!**

 **Just a quick disclaimer: I do not own The Underland Chronicles, the characters and general plot belong to Suzanne Collins, I am merely tangling the existing ideas into something interesting to read :)**

 **I'd like to keep my theme of a motivational quote for every chapter and of course I invite submissions.**

 **"Everything you can imagine is real." Pablo Picasso.**

* * *

I sat on the edge of a formation of dark black rocks, one of my feet dangled off the side and the other rested in the warm water. It flowed from somewhere higher, falling to my ledge in a soft waterfall before falling much further into the large pool below.

Serenity showed me this branch off of the main waterway that ran through Regalia a few weeks ago, the large pool collected from the waterfall in an area about the size of half a football field before spilling over into a faster moving section of the rapids. I was only about ten feet above the pool from where I sat, but I still pushed my back against the rock to avoid looking straight down.

I held a piece of parchment with neat words written across it, the poem had been a plague for me since my dad and Boots went back to the Overland. Nerissa was nice enough to make me a copy so I could study it away from the Prophecy Room, but I was regretting the decision to accept it.

A set of warm hands settled on my bare shoulders before moving down to wrap around my neck. "Reading the Prophecy of Bane again?" She asked, her voice soft as her mouth was right next to my ear, but I could still detect the playful annoyance.

I chuckled, rolling up the parchment. Serenity understood that the prophecy was important, and Sandwich was cryptic as ever with this one, but I had been kinda glued to it. I'm sure she was getting tired of falling second to a piece of paper. "Yeah, but more because I'm worried about bringing Boots back down here; she's only eight years old, this isn't the environment I want her to be in."

I unrolled the scroll and pointed to the last stanza. " _Die the baby, die his heart, die his most essential part. Die the piece that rules the hour. Gnawers have their key to power._ Sandwich may be hard to understand sometimes, but that's pretty obvious; if my sister dies, I don't think I'd be able to recover from that, especially because it would be all my fault for bringing her back."

The baker's daughter reached around me to take the parchment from my hands and I made no attempt to stop her as she put the prophecy back in my messenger bag. "Will you be alone on this quest?"

I sighed. "No."

"Ares will be with you?"

"Yes."

"Luxa and Aurora?"

"Yeah."

"Ripred?"

I couldn't keep a small snort. "Alright, I get it, I won't be the only one there to look out for her, but I've never had to worry about anyone other than myself, and I'm just scared I'll get so wrapped up in my own battle that when I finally remember to check on her…" I swallowed and lowered my head. "It'll already be too late."

Serenity took my hand and forced me to stand, facing her, which I was glad for, looking towards the edge and seeing the landscape, even for a second, started to make me dizzy. In this position, her chin reached my shoulder, a nice change from the more dramatic height differences like Luxa or Dulcet. Her tender yet electrifying violet eyes stared back at me, accompanied by a small smile that gave her a 'you are so stupid for worrying but I care about you and understand' look I've been getting from her increasingly often lately.

She wrapped her arms around my neck again, her slightly wet skin was cool against mine, and placed a small peck on my lips. "I know you will protect her, but you do not have to shoulder this burden alone; Ares is your bond, he will help Boots just as he will you, and the same for Luxa and Aurora. Now, please, come swim with me?"

I laughed at her pout, she'd been hackling at me for the last twenty minutes from the pool below to join her. "Alright, alright. Race you." Breaking loose from her hold, I took two steps and leaped off the edge with my eyes squeezed shut, not opening them until I was five feet underwater.

Part of the reason Serenity brought me to this swimming hole was the height of the edge, it was almost ten feet from the water which was around twenty feet deep. It took me a half dozen chicken outs to finally stumble off of it with her encouraging words, and since then, I was able to cannonball off without too much issue.

A _plop_ off to my side indicated she had jumped in as well and I opened my eyes, the clean water didn't sting them at all. I swam to where Serenity was treading at the surface. I made sure to stay deep enough so she wouldn't see me approach and pushed off the bottom behind her.

I broke the surface with a splash and wrapped my arms around her, laughing at the cute squeak of surprise she gave. Leaning back, I swam us to the side where a natural ledge under the water was shallow enough for me to stand with my shoulders out of the water. Serenity recovered from the sneak attack and rested her hands on my shoulders for support, still giggling lightly. The water just deep enough that she couldn't touch, but I didn't mind holding her up.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, boosting her so we were face to face. "Hi."

She laughed at me, only fueled when I shook my hair free of water, shifting her arms around my neck much like when we were up on the edge and ran her hands through my long locks. "It is getting quite long."

I nodded, I had been able to see the strands over my eyebrows for a while. "Yeah, I was going to cut it, but it's hard to do without hurting myself."

"Come to the bakery tomorrow and I shall take care of it." Serenity lightly pulled on the ends to emphasis the point.

I shook obediently. "Yes ma'am." Before she got a chance to say anything, Ares fluttered down next to us. "Hey, man, what's up?"

The bat didn't originally know what the phrase meant, because obviously he wasn't a man, but through the last month and a half he had just accepted it as a greeting. "Mareth requests you be on time to training today." He joked and I laughed. The military trainer had come to me a week after the quest, telling me it would be best for me to learn to fight for the next prophecy and be better prepared, but I was usually late.

Part of it was because all we had done so far was run laps in the arena, and it wasn't any more fun down here than running from the police in the Overland, but most the time like now, I was with Serenity.

Ever since we kissed almost two months ago, we've spent about every other day together. She had such a bubbly, happy personality and her laughter was just as infectious as her smile; her perfect teeth stood out against the faded red of her lips as the only thing paler than her skin. Whenever I left her for training or the bakery for the night, I couldn't wipe the grin off my face as the sight of her gleeful expression was still clear in my mind.

I opened up to her about living on my own, more than I ever expected myself to, but I never imagined I would meet someone that I so trusted. She listened to my stories, often fighting off tears as most of them were less than pleasant, but she never judged. It didn't matter what it was, either demeaning like dumpster diving for food outside a chinese restaurant, or horrific like digging a bullet out of my thigh with half a pair of scissors while hiding behind a trashcan.

I never tried to spite Mareth by being late, it just happened because I lost track of time while I was with her, which is why Ares had started to track me down to make sure I got there. The soldier would simply roll his eyes at me when I would arrive behind schedule and make me run a few extra laps, but I still felt bad about it, so I appreciated my bond's efforts.

"Okay, I guess I have to get going." I turned to Serenity who somewhat reluctantly nodded, sending me a smile. "If Mareth doesn't make me run extra laps, I'll try to stop by the bakery before I go back to the palace, otherwise I'll see you after the game?"

She nodded, a true smile forming over the disappointed one. "Good luck, you and Ares have done well."

I grinned as I pulled myself out of the water, accepting the towel the black flyer tossed at me. "I had the best teacher in the game," I laughed with the bat. Two days after Luxa announced I was staying in Regalia, the citizens offered me a position in the flyer tournaments, and with Ares's help, I had learned the game quickly. We spent hours together, learning how to fly and track the ball while moving; that was probably the hardest parts for me to get use to. If anything, flying through the tunnels outside of Regalia left a lot of time for the bat and I to get to know each other.

As I was toweling off, Serenity's bond Aphrodite landed next to Ares with a fresh set of clothes for her. To swim, Serenity just wore what I assumed was the Underland version of a bikini, which wasn't any different than the underclothes she wore everyday; I wasn't sure if that was a normal thing, but Mareth told me that men simply wore boxers so I didn't think much about it.

She slipped on the shirt and shorts, waiting to change out of the wet undergarments in private, just as I finished swapping my boxers for a dry pair behind Ares's wings; if I was going to run for miles, the last thing I wanted was to do it in wet underwear. I hugged her and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I'll see you later." She nodded, waving me off with a fond smile from her bond's side.

I met Aphrodite the second time I stopped by the bakery; she was a rich chocolate brown with faded red accents over one eye, in the middle of both wings, and down her legs. It was cool because all the splotches all vaguely resembled hearts; if I tilted my head and squinted, but it was there. Like Ares, she didn't speak much, and when she did it was so soft to the point I often had to ask her to repeat herself; Serenity never seemed to have an issue with it, but she said they've been together since Aphrodite was abandoned by her parents when she was only a few years old.

Serenity told me that Aphrodite didn't speak at all when they first met, not even to other bats, and that's why she thinks her parents rejected her, but a young Serenity taught her to speak as she learned to herself. It was a touching story that clearly showed where the compassion and empathy she often gave to me originated.

I slid off Ares when we touched down in the Arena, my feet rebounding on the soft moss field. "Gregor!" Mareth appeared, clapping a hand against my shoulder in greetings; I got a lot of practice hiding the wince of the daily smack. "You are on time today, wonderful. I have a surprise for you!"

"Let me guess, running?" I droned sarcastically.

Mareth ignored my comment and directed me towards a rack of swords, pulling a bag from behind it to produce the beautiful blade my father had given me in the Dead Lands. It looked just as good as before, someone had cleaned the blood off and maybe even polished it. The soldier laid the blade against the back of one wrist and loosely held the hilt in the other, offering it to me. I swallowed hard and redirected my gaze. "I don't think that's a good idea."

His eyebrows lit up. "I believe you have earned it, Gregor. We have worked on your endurance and now you can learn simple moves with your father's sword. He clearly wished for you to wield it. We may work slow if you are unsure."

I took the handle from him, testing the weight and feel; it was nearly perfect, like he somehow knew how I would hold and swing it. Mareth handed me a black leather sheath and I busied myself with attaching it to my waist and experimentally slipping the sword into it.

"Hold on to it," Mareth encouraged, breaking me out of a frozen moment of staring at the weapon in its home. "We will try simple moves tomorrow."

I blinked. "We're done? Already?"

He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I know it is hard to understand what your father has done, but this sword is clear evidence he thought of you every day, and loved you dearly. Take it, but please be on time tomorrow."

I laughed and hugged him. "Thank you, Mareth, this means more to me than I even know." He chuckled, waving me onto Ares, and I asked my bond to take me to the palace. I dropped the blade off in my room and Ares brought me to the museum where I found a pair of scissors that looked like they were made for hair. He dropped me off at the bakery and I said goodbye to him before heading in.

"Serenity?" I called when no one was up front and she popped her head in a moment later.

She flashed her amazing smile at me and emerged from the back room where the raw ingredients were stored. "Gregor! How are you back so soon?"

"Mareth let me out early after he gave me my dad's sword." Her eyes softened at the sensitive topic but I didn't let it bring me down. "So, I dropped by the Museum and got these for that haircut."

Serenity laughed with joy and took the scissors from me, directing me to sit at one of the stone chairs before disappearing into the back again. She reappeared with a small, double sided dagger and a towel. "You're just cutting my hair, right?"

She rolled her eyes and turned my head forward. "Did you have a request for the length?"

I took a moment before an idea struck me. "I was thinking like super short up to here," I moved my hands from the base of my hairline to just below the tips of my ears. "Then progressively longer, and maybe leave a good amount on the top, you know?"

Serenity ran a hand through my hair as if she was imagining it. "I believe I understand, are you ready? I will almost miss the mop."

I laughed. "I won't." I couldn't see her reaction but a moment later she tilted my head forward and started snipping at the base of my neck. I sat in silence, allowing her to move me around as she deemed necessary, trying not to twitch when she used the knife on my neck. About ten minutes later, she set her tools down and used the towel to clean me off.

"Well, the moment of truth." I stood and walked to the mirror hanging on the wall next to the counter and smiled. My neck was smooth, bare of hair up to the tip of my ears. There, short hair began, and got longer towards the top of my head where it was still several inches; long enough to run my fingers through. I turned back to her and scooped her up, spinning us while she giggled and held my shoulders for support.

"Is it safe to believe that you approve?" She asked as I set her down, her eyes reflecting the torch's glow and her own delight.

I leaned down and caught her lips, answering the question to leave little doubt. When we broke apart, I gave her my own grin. "It's exactly what I wanted, thank you."

Ares fluttered in front of the door and caught our attention. "Gregor, Vikus calls you to attend dinner, he wishes to talk about the prophecy."

I wanted to scream. I was finally beginning to forget about the prophecy and now it could be starting? Serenity must have picked up on my frustration because she ran a hand over my neck and pulled me into a hug. "I will speak to you at the tournament."

I nodded, accepting her offer to vent later and pecked her cheek goodbye. "Did he say anything about what he was going to say?" I asked the black bat when we were in air.

Ares shook his head. "Only that it is important." I sighed and remained quiet for the rest of the trip.

* * *

Vikus, Solovet, and their bonds met me in High Hall. I returned the old man's greeting, gripping his forearm for an extra second to tell myself to relax. "Is Luxa coming?" I asked, noticing that the princess hadn't appeared when the food arrived.

"She has lessons." Solovet answered and I nodded, taking another bite of my food. The conversation was extinguished and if Vikus didn't bring the prophecy up, I sure as hell wasn't going to.

"Gregor," The old man started, taking a sip of his goblet. "How has training with Mareth gone?"

I had a sudden flashback of dinner with my own family when my mom would ask me how my day went at school. "He gave me my dad's sword and said we'd start some basic moves tomorrow, but before now we've just been running laps in the arena."

He nodded, taking his time for another bite before continuing. "We have received word the Gnawers wish to target your sister to prevent your intervention in their plans." My stomach dropped and I had to force my dinner from making a comeback. "The Crawlers agree we need to bring Boots back to Regalia to protect her. I have sent word to your father."

The news wasn't as bad with the idea of Boots being safe in the city, but I was still apprehensive. "Mail takes days to get to Virginia from New York...will she be ok for that long?"

Vikus nodded. "I sent a scroll to your Mrs. Cormaci several days ago. She left a note today saying your father had... 'called' her. He will send word again when he negotiates travel."

I slouched down in my chair, relieved. My dad just had to justify bringing Boots up to New York and she'd be ok. I still wasn't so sure my mom would even let them out of her sight so soon, but I had to trust my dad would do everything he could. "Ok, I hope we hear from him soon. I'm going to turn in for the night."

They wished me goodnight and I walked back to the royal chambers with Ares. I had gotten pretty good at maneuvering the palace without much issue and easily made it there within a few minutes.

When I walked through the thick curtain, Luxa was sitting at the central couch, reading a leather bound book. She glanced up at my entrance and did a double take. "Gregor," She called, closing her book and standing but hesitated at the back of the couch, not climbing the two steps from the lowered section of the room to be level with me. "You trimmed your hair."

I ran a hand over the back of my neck and up through my hair. "Yeah, figured it was getting pretty long so…" I trailed off, it had been a little awkward since she denied my affections after the quest, but with her busy schedule and my training, plus hanging out with Serenity, we had barely seen each other. It was pretty rare we were both here at the same time, and I don't remember the last time we had eaten together.

She tilted her head and walked up the few steps to be even with me. "Who cut it?"

"Um, a friend." I looked down at my feet. "Uh, you might know her; her dad was a baker in the kitchen. Her name is Serenity."

Luxa's expression softened. "Serenity. That is a name I have not thought about in many years. We were very close. Is she the one who gave you that?" My head snapped up in confusion and she pointed solemnly at my neck.

I tilted my head at the mirror behind me and saw the faded red spot along my hairline; my old hair was long enough to hide it but with nothing there, it was on full view. "Yeah." I mumbled, I wasn't embarrassed that Serenity had given it to me, but more that it obviously hurt Luxa's feelings; it probably had a lot to do with Serenity being her friend.

She nodded, remaining stoic. "It would be wonderful to see her again, perhaps you could bring her to dinner."

I almost couldn't breathe with how heavy the conversation felt, even though we were both being pleasant. Luxa's voice was low and defeated, mine tight and uncomfortable; it was like we had never met and weren't sure how to talk to each other. It saddened me because I thought we really connected in the tunnels during the quest, even though we weren't romantically involved, I opened up to her and I thought that trust would carry over. "Sure, I bet she'd love that. Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Gregor."

I walked through my room's curtain and let out a deep breath. I changed my clothes and sat on the bed next to my dad's sword. I ran my hand over the slick, black leather sheath and sighed. I wasn't happy about bringing my sister back into the danger of the Underland, but at least now I could properly protect her. Setting the sword against the bedside table, I wiggled under the sheets to get some sleep before official training started tomorrow.

* * *

 **There it is, the first chapter of _Refugee_! Kind of a filler first for the transition between prophecies but what can you do. I hope you enjoyed it! More is to come! It would mean so much to me if you left a review and let me know how I did.**

 **Yours,  
Artemis.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Eyyyy, back at it with the chapters.**

 **"There may be people that have more talent than you, but there's no excuse for anyone to work harder than you." -Derek Jeter**

* * *

I met with Vikus the next morning in the council room. "Gregor," He waved me into a seat next to him at the head of the east side while Luxa headed up the west end. "We wish to discuss the prophecy."

I sat, shifting in the stone chair with my dad's sword on my hip. "Did you want to talk about the actual prophecy?"

He nodded. "I know Nerissa has given you a copy, what do you think of it?"

I took out the rolled parchment and looked over the now familiar words. "Just one thing that I couldn't quite pinpoint... _Something rises from the gloom To make the Underland a tomb. Hear it scratching down below, Rat of long forgotten snow, Evil cloaked in coat of white Will the warrior drain your light?"_

The council was quiet, but from the neutral expressions they all wore, it was obvious they had heard the words hundreds of times. "Something dangerous is coming." I started when it remained silent. "Something deadly."

"Not just coming, it is here, and has been for some time. The gnawers have done well to conceal it, even from their own." Vikus shook his head solemnly.

"A...white rat?" I frowned at the words.

"The color of long-forgotten snow." The old man nodded, his gaze became unfocused as if he was visualizing a winter wonderland. "We do not get snow in the Underland, though I imagine it to be very beautiful."

I did my best to smile at him, deciding to keep the gross imagines of gray slush in the streets and puddles of dirty water splashing up by the fast moving cars to myself. "It is. Now, the rat…?"

"It is of legend," Another council member sitting close to Luxa piped up. "Sandwich knew tales of the white rat even before we travelled to the Underland. Historically, one will appear every few centuries and gather other rats around it to create a reign of terror."

"It is remarkable in cunning, strength, and size compared to the other gnawers." The woman next to me picked up.

I swallowed. "Size?"

"Considerably larger," Vikus nodded. "As for the legend, the only thing that stands between this creature and the Underland's future is you; the Warrior. You are a threat to it, and that is why the gnawers wish to conceal it, they do not want you to find it. The prophecy also reveals your vulnerability."

I looked back to my copy of the prophecy. " _What could turn the warrior weak? What do burning gnawers seek? Just a barely speaking pup Who holds the land of Under up._ "

"Do you know of which it means by 'pup'?" The man across the table from me asked.

I nodded. "Ripred called Luxa and Henry pups when they wouldn't listen to him." I muttered, thinking about the old rat and if he knew anything about this white rat. Vikus said the gnawers concealed its presence from their own, was he one of the species that knew, or didn't?

"I am sure he said it sarcastically to remind them he was in charge; for rats, a 'pup' is a baby. The only baby we know of that is close to you is Boots."

"So they think, if they kill Boots, something will happen to me." I had to take a deep breath after saying it, the idea was almost as bad as the real thing.

Another man took over and I felt like I was being bounced around like a ping pong game. "It will break you emotionally, and if it happens, the rats will surely overtake us all."

I ran my hands over my face and through my now short hair. "You're sure it's Boots?"

"As sure as we can be. Your closeness to her is well known, that you sacrificed yourself by leaping rather than allowing King Gorger to kill her, and this has made an impression on everyone. Which brings me to matters of retrieving your sister." Vikus motioned to the door and Temp scurried in, his antenna still bent from the accident during the quest. "The crawlers have been watching your family to make sure they are safe, but they fear the rats will make their move against them soon."

I frowned for a moment. "You mean, the little ones?"

"Yes, they communicate with the larger ones here, but the rats watch them as well, waiting for a moment to take your sister's life." He looked to Temp for a moment. "She has been close to the gateway above the Waterway. We fear that soon enough, they will find out a way to reach her."

I sighed. "Any word from my dad?"

Vikus nodded and looked happy for the first time. "He has confirmed a trip for Boots to the gateway they left the Underland through months ago. They will arrive tomorrow."

I paused. "They?"

"Your father is not crazy in accompanying your sister." Luxa spoke.

I turned to her, slightly surprised to hear her speak after so long. "If he comes down here, he's going to want to go on the quest."

She shook her head. "Yes, and we will not allow it. If he fights this, we will send him back to the Overland."

I ran my hands over my face in frustration. She sounded so confident, but no matter how many time she told my dad he couldn't go, as a parent, he wouldn't just back down because a royal seventeen year old told him no. "Fine, you get to tell him then."

We held each other's gaze for a minute, neither of us wanting to be the first to look away; Luxa was far too stubborn and I too frustrated with her to let her win. "Gregor," I recognized Ares's voice behind me. "It is time for training."

Even though I was content in staring the royal down, I stood from the table and wordlessly mounted my bond, not meeting her gaze as he flew me out of the room. We flew silently for a moment before I let out a growl of frustration. "Gah, she just makes me so mad."

"Luxa means well, but she is as stubborn as the day she was born." Ares gave a small 'huh' of laughter as we landed and I took a deep breath as Mareth approached us.

The soldier smiled, clasping my forearm in greeting and started walking. "Are we going to hit something? Because I really need to hit something."

He laughed and brought me over to an open area with straw dummies. We spent several hours working through attacks and defences, thoroughly destroying a couple dummies. When Mareth broke for water, I was out of breath and sweating hard. We both ditched our shirts a while ago, and it felt so good to pour the cool water straight over my head.

The soldier joined me at the woven basket full of water. I nodded at the other side of the arena where a group had finished doing something with cannons. "What's going on over there?"

He glanced over and grinned. "Another exercise, I believe you will do well with it, if you are ready to move on."

I nodded, the statement sounding a little like he was tempting me. "Yeah, let's go." We jogged over and Mareth waved off a few guys that had begun to roll the cannons away. He tossed me a red ball the size of a golf ball, it was waxy and the liquid sloshed around inside. "What are these?"

"They are blood balls, we use them for sword training to work on speed and accuracy."

I scrunched my nose up. "There's blood in here?" I didn't even want to know who was the lucky donor.

He laughed. "No, water and dye, but it simulates blood. This way it is easier to tell which ones have been hit and broken."

Mareth directed me into the middle of the three cannons so one was directly across from me while the other two flanked my right and left. "So, how many do people usually get on their first try?"

"Not many, three or less." He called for two other Underlanders to join him and they loaded five balls into each, taking spots behind the other cannons. "Now, Gregor, this is your first day of sword training, do not be too frustrated with the outcome; it is just an exercise."

I nodded and took the ready stance Mareth had showed me earlier, my dad's sword out in front of me. Anxiety started to make my heart beat a little faster, and I told myself to relax just as Mareth gave the order to fire.

As soon as the first balls left the cannon's barrel, everything around me faded and grew unfocused; the Underlanders that gathered to watch, the bats flying overhead, the arena, and even the cannons themselves. All I could see were the small balls of red flying towards me.

It was like I lost control of my actions. I could see and feel my arms moving but where they went seemed almost too fast for me to comprehend. The polished metal of the sword sliced through the delicate wax and its contents sprayed in all directions. I vaguely felt some of it hit my face, then it was all over.

Everything rushed back and I blinked. My heart was going a mile a minute. I looked down and saw the broken shells of fifteen blood balls.

Mareth shocked me out of the daze by hitting my shoulder and congratulating me. I nodded and thanked him, still kind of wrapped up in everything that just happened. "That's not too bad, huh? How many people have gotten all of them?"

He laughed. "Not many. Only one."

"Really? Who?"

He wave it off. "Go get cleaned up, we have more work to do."

I nodded and stumbled to the basket. I gripped the sides with white knuckles, looking at my reflection, seeing where all the red liquid had splashed my face, arms, chest, and bits on my legs was making my head spin. Taking a shuddered breath, I began to calm down. I took the washcloth from the side of the water basket and dipped it in, wringing it out and began wiping the 'blood' from my body.

I had finished my face and arms when Luxa suddenly dropped from above on the other side of my basket. "I had to see it for myself." She said, her voice was excited but struggled like she hasn't quite forgiven me for earlier and didn't want to be too happy. "You hit all fifteen blood balls."

I nodded, not answering her because I hadn't forgiven her for anything yet, either. She was silent as I washed my chest and legs until it became too much for her. "Gregor, we need to talk."

I sighed and placed the cloth back on the edge of the basket, grabbing my shirt from the bench. "You know, I have a lot of training to do, big quest coming up and all."

Luxa frowned at me as I slipped my shirt over my head. "Meet me in Ares's cave in two hours."

"Look, _your highness_ , I know you aren't really use to being told no, but I'm busy. So, no."

I turned to walk away, not bothering to see her reaction, but I had only gotten two feet when her soft reply came, almost so quiet I didn't hear it. "Please." I stopped and squeezed my eyes tight, but didn't turn. She sounded desperate and beaten. Even though I didn't confirm it, when I walked away, I had the feeling she understood I would go.

Mareth released me from the arena an hour later with high praise and a request to bathe. Ares brought me to the baths and I told him about meeting Luxa. I finished quickly and changed into fresh clothes.

As we glided into Ares's cave, I saw Luxa sitting on a rock next to Aurora. Neither of them noticed us for a moment until the golden bat's ears perked up and she glanced up, notifying her bond as well. I let out a heavy breath of anticipation as Ares swooped down and I climbed off but stayed next to him, leaving a good fifteen feet between us.

Luxa stood and took a few steps before hesitating. "I was afraid you would not come."

I crossed my arms. "I shouldn't have, but I did, so what did you want to talk about?"

She frowned and the tiny bit of relief she showed at my appearance dissolved, her typical stern expression returning. "Your behavior of late has been unacceptable."

I almost totally flipped. My eyebrows jumped and my mouth flopped a few times before I could get my thoughts together. " _My_ behavior has been unacceptable? What about _you,_ Luxa? You've been avoiding me, and if we do end up in the same room, you leave! Last night was the first time you spoke to me in almost two months!"

She shook her head. "I have had my lessons, but when I am free, you are never available because you have been distancing yourself. We must work together on this next quest, and I cannot have you acting on your own without communicating with me."

I couldn't believe what she was saying, she was accusing me of everything she's been doing. "I'm so sorry that I'm doing what you told me to do, Luxa. I've been in the city, getting to know Ares, training; I'm sorry that I didn't lock myself in my room after you rejected me!"

Luxa's neutral face fell and she looked at the ground, her crossed arms became limp and fell to her sides. I was still fuming and couldn't help but continue. "I've been alone for years, then I come here, and finally find my place, and I met you. I thought I wouldn't have to be alone anymore, and then you tried to be all high and mighty with me. So, I'm sorry that it's taken me longer than two months to get totally over that heartbreak."

She shook her head, still looking at the ground. "You know why I had to push you away."

I threw my arms up and scoffed. "Right, because my blood isn't pure, because I'm from the Overland, because being with me would mean you have to give something up. Yeah, I do know."

Luxa shook her head and I thought I saw tears. I blinked and relaxed my tight muscles, watching her hands ball up into white fists with a little bit of regret for my words. "I wanted nothing more than to listen to you speak of the future, Gregor. I would have given my crown to live the simple life you described, but you could not understand having to care for thousands of people; the stress, the sacrifice behind it. I am the Queen, that means I do not have a choice, I am all my people have left."

Her words were hard to accept, I saw the pain of shouldering incredible responsibilities over all these years, not to mention Henry's recent betrayal. I realized I was only making her situation worse and my anger deflated. I struggled to find words and Luxa remained quiet as well. The tip of Ares's wing touched my arm in a subtle way of support and I saw Aurora do the same for Luxa.

Five minutes probably passed before I could muster my voice again. "I'm sorry I said those things, you're right, I couldn't understand your situation. I was just hurt, and I took it out on you. I know I can still trust you in battle, we can work together on the quest."

"You were right as well, I should not have distanced myself as much, especially with the quest coming close." She looked up at me, her eyes moist with unshed tears and her expression evening out. "I am glad you met Serenity, she and I were very close friends as children."

"Were?" Serenity had mentioned they stopped talking when her dad moved out of the palace and Luxa's parents died, but it sounded like she didn't quite understand Luxa's side of it.

She sighed. "My parents died and I spent very little time with anyone other than Aurora. When I was able to move on enough to seek her out, her family had returned to the city, but I could not bring myself to walk the streets yet. After so many years, I thought she would hate me for neglecting her that I could not force myself to visit her again."

I stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You should, she misses you. I haven't got a chance to see her since yesterday, but I'll invite her to dinner when my dad and sister get here. Talk to her, you'd be surprised how long friendships can last."

"Thank you, Gregor-" Her words were cut off when Ares and Aurora suddenly stood at attention, their ears rotating as they listened. Luxa took less than a second to jump on her bond's back and they were gone in a golden flash.

I looked to the black flier. "What was that?"

"A warning, we must go." Ares said in a rush and I did as he asked.

"What's it a warning of?" I asked as we sped through the tunnels.

"It means gnawers have entered Regalia."

* * *

 **So there's the next installment, hope you enjoyed it.**

 **In case anyone didn't catch on, the 'red mark' on Gregor's neck is a hickey lol it means he and Serenity got a little frisky by the lake haha. I included it because I didn't want to overdue it with their scenes and possibly take away from the actual story. I want Serenity to be a presence but the last thing I want, especially as a reader, is for an OC to totally take over.**

 **If there's anything you see wrong totally feel free to point it out (shout out to the reviewer that pointed out I spelled 'flyer' instead of 'flier'). I look at these chapters a million times and sometimes I miss things, and I want to make sure that it's as perfect as it can be for you guys!**

 **Always,**

 **Artemis.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Don't you just love summer? I've had so much time to sit and really focus on this story, I've loved it, and I hope you do as well.**

 **"The best way to predict the future is to create it." -Peter Drunker**

* * *

I held tight to Ares's fur as we rocketed through the dark caves, faster than we ever had gone while training or even during the quest. I was getting more anxious as we went. I didn't want Boots running into the arena and getting in the middle of a firefight between the Underlanders and the gnawers.

The gnawers must have gotten word that she was coming down. What if that giant, white rat was already coming to attack the city? Boots and my dad would be walking right into it.

Ares flew us right to the arena and I cursed myself the whole way for leaving my dad's sword on my bed; I didn't think I'd need it to meet Luxa! A guard from down below waved us down, indicating the stone doors leading out to the city. "There are just two, there, by the doors! Stay back, Warrior!"

My bond stopped in a moment, but we were close enough to see the battle. Two rats fought against a dozen humans on their fliers, and it looked like they were winning. The smaller of the two could jump so high, it forced the bats back and kept them from attacking it, but it looked like the larger one was working hard to protect it and was dealing serious damage. It spun in a circle, moving so fast I only saw a gray blob. Following it, crimson wounds appeared on the humans and their bonds, but none on it.

I recognized the moves immediately. "Ares, that's got to be-"

"Ripred!" Ares finished, seeing the familiar rat as well.

"We have to stop them." I said as Ares was already diving at the riders. We swooped by them, knocking down the front line of soldiers. I leaned forward and held on to his fur as Ares elegantly moving into a figure eight, effectively slow down more Underlanders. He pulled up vertically, flapping his large wings in place between the old rat and the guards.

I sat up on his back like a horse jockey. "Stop! Stop! He's a friend!" The Underlanders pulled back so they didn't hit us and yelled for us to move. "It's Ripred!"

Everyone immediately stopped at the name and wordlessly backed away. The end of battle allowed the rat to fall against his back lazily and laugh, the scar on his face moved as he grinned. "Look at them, _Warrior_ , they are priceless!"

I frowned at him over my shoulder, not at all amused by the panic he initiated to the Underlanders and to me. "Stop it, it's not funny." He ignored me and continued to snicker. I rolled my eyes and turned to the soldiers as Ares evened out. "Can someone get Vikus or Solovet?" None of the Underlanders moved, but I wasn't sure if they were just confused, or blatantly didn't want to follow my order.

I decided to ignore them and moved back to the lounging Ripred, I remembered the smaller gnawer. It was huddled behind the old lazy rat with wide eyes, panting hard. "Who's your friend? My name is Gregor, it's nice to meet you."

The rat hissed at us, the viscous action made both Ares and I to flinch away, which only fueled Ripred's amusement as he slapped his tail against the moss and rolled with laughter. "You waste your breath trying to sweet-talk her, Warrior. Twitchtip hates everybody!"

Twitchtip turned at Ripred and copied the snarl she had given us before cutting the moss with her claws and sticking her nose into it. I blinked. That was weird. "Ground formation." A commanding voice called from behind us.

Solovet led the Underlanders in a diamond shaped formation then walked through the ranks, sending wounded away before dismissing everyone else. "Ripred, I just sent half of my guards to the hospital." It sounded like she was trying to reprimand him, but the tiredness in her voice made it obvious she was just glad it wasn't any worse.

"I barely scratched them." He stretched out, making himself comfortable. "They needed some live rat practice, obviously."

Solovet looked like she was trying to resist the urge to roll her eyes at him and crossed her arms. "You were suppose to meet an escort guard at Queenshead, tomorrow."

"Was that tomorrow? I was certain it was today."

The older woman shook her head and tried to be positive. "Well, you are here now. And to what reason do we have the pleasure of your company?"

"I brought her as a gift."

I frowned, the sentence just felt wrong. "A gift?"

Ripred flipped his tail back and forth. "Well, not _literally_ , it's not like I own her, but I made her an offer: if she agrees to assist you find the Bane and succeeds, I agreed to let her live with my band of rats in the Dead Land. She's been living on her own after being driven out of the gnawers' lands years ago."

"Why was she chased out?" I asked, hesitantly slipping off of Ares's back, somehow I felt safer with him than on the ground, which isn't something I ever expected to feel.

"Twitchtip is gifted. Show the nice people what you can do, Twitchtip." Ripred poked her with his tail and she snapped at it, just missing it by a hair. "Show them or it's back to living with me, myself, and I for you."

She glared at him but reluctantly removed her nose from the moss, brushing dirt away, and tilted her head back to take a deep whiff. She grimaced. "The princess is in her room, sitting on a leather couch with three pups and two grown ones. She just ate a lunch of fish, mushrooms, and greens. She is highly stressed and her shirt is blue." When she was done, Twitchtip jammed her nose back in the moss.

Solovet's eyebrows rose and she looked very impressed. "She is a scent seer."

"Yes," He glanced at me. "Her sense of smell is so unnaturally heightened, she can even detect color; one in a million, an abnormality. She is an outsider because her own species is unsettled by her gift, but very useful."

"Not a bad fighter either, if she has survived in the Dead Land alone for so many years." Solovet gave a rare smile.

Ripred sprayed his fingers open as if to say 'you're welcome' and turned back to me. "You may want to check on your girlfriend, boy. It sounds like she's in a pickle."

I rolled my eyes and jumped onto Ares's back, zooming up to the palace. "What do you think Twitchtip meant by what she said about Luxa?"

Ares shook his head as we glided through High Hall. "I have no idea." I felt him speed up just a hint as his own curiosity pushed him. He landed outside the thick purple curtain and I dismounted, giving a quick nod to the guards outside, even they looked a little agitated.

"Luxa?" I called as I pushed the drapery to the side. "The gnawers in the arena were just Ripred and his friend…" I trailed off as the atrium of the chamber came into full view. When I walked in, Luxa immediately sprung to her feet while the five kids with her remain seated. They stared at me, hardly moved their eyes from me like lot of Underlanders at first, I was probably the only Overlander they've ever seen.

"Gregor," She almost sprinted around the couch to stand next to me. "Meet you my cousins, they are here on a _short_ visit from the Fount."

She went down the line, introducing each of them with a tight voice. The oldest was named Howard, another oddly simple name, who was obviously older than both of us, maybe a few years past twenty one. It looked like he worked out. A lot. His arms weren't huge like body-builders, but they were very defined. The second oldest was a girl named Stellovet who looked about twenty one and was eye-catchingly pretty. She had long, flowing silver blond curls and alluring violet eyes.

Next to Howard sat a pair of twins, the girl's name was Hero and the boy was Kent. Last, sitting next to Stellovet was the youngest, a girl probably no more than thirteen, whose name I didn't quite catch. It sounded kind of like 'chimney', though I had a feeling that wasn't exactly it.

"Greetings, Gregor the Overlander. We have heard much about your deeds and are very grateful." Howard said politely, nodding at me.

I ran my hand over the back of my neck, gripping the long hair at the crown of my head, not really knowing how to respond. "Uh, no problem, but I'm not an Overlander any more."

"Yes, we heard of your new citizenship in Regalia." He didn't sound very moved by the information, it was like he tried to sound interested but didn't know how to complete the thought, so he just gave up.

"Oh, yes," Stellovet stood and walked towards me, the way she over emphasised her hips made me feel extraordinarily awkward; flirtation was not this girl's strong suit. "We were so glad you were there to defend Luxa on the quest."

I gulped and shook my head. "Yeah, well, she had my back out there too, so I guess we're even."

Her eyes narrowed at my retort, like she didn't enjoy me complimenting her cousin's actions, but shot me a charming smile. "Yes, Luxa is something of an expert on rats, no matter how many legs they have."

My stomach felt like a rock and I clenched my jaw. "That's highly uncalled for." I reprimanded her tightly. I didn't need to look at Luxa, I was angry enough for the both of us, but I couldn't imagine the pain the statement probably caused her. Howard stood and apologized for his sister, at least he had the morality to be embarrassed by her actions. Stellovet crossed her arms with a smirk, the twins covered their mouths to hide their own, and Chimney or whatever her name was, was way too entranced by the leather book Luxa had been reading last night to notice.

I tried not to glare at her unabashed attitude towards her cousin and accepted his forearm. "Where did you say you're from?"

"We live at the Fount. Our father is in charge there." Stellovet pushed herself back into the conversation, her nose tilted up with pride.

I nodded. "Do you get many gnawers there?"

"Not many." She continued to boast. "They clearly are frightened by our fighting abilities."

Howard rolled his eyes. "They have little reason to come, they would have to battle the perilous rapids and we have no crops worth destroying."

I rubbed the top of my hair, faking confusion. "So, have you ever even seen a rat yourself?"

Stellovet's mouth dropped and her face began to flush, which for Underlanders was extremely obvious, shaking her head in defiance. "Yes, I have seen a rat! On the riverbank, as close as I am to you."

"Stellovet," Chimney piped up from being buried nose deep in the book, I absentmindedly wondered what it was about if it kept her attention for so long. "That rat had been dead for days."

With her story outed, Stellovet's skin went from pink to bright red in embarrassment or anger, or both. "Hush!" She hissed at her sister angrily, turning back to us while fixing her already perfect clothes. "Well, this has been lovely but I believe it is time for dinner, yes, Luxa? Gregor, would you care to escort me?"

I felt like a deer in headlights as she batted her eyelashes at me. She was related to Luxa, does that make her royal? Was I even allowed to say no? "Apologies, cousin," Luxa chimed in with a small smirk of her own. "Gregor is already escorting his date to dinner tonight, you remember Serenity, yes? Go fetch her, Gregor, we will meet you in a private dining room; Ares knows it."

She shooed me out of the royal chambers with my bond and I breathed out audibly. "Well, let's go get Serenity, I guess." The bat let loose a string of 'huh huh huh's of laughter at my expense but took to the air and rushed us out of the palace.

We arrived at the bakery in a minute and I self-consciously adjusted my clothing. I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her about dinner, what if she didn't want to go, or if she was already asleep? I panicked for a moment, what time was it anyway? Dammit, there being no sun down here!

"Gregor." Ares's voice jarred me out of my mental hysteria. "Go inside."

Wordlessly, I obeyed his directions and forced myself into the bakery before I could chicken out. Inside, a plump man was busy behind the counter, humming a tune to himself as he worked the dough. I tried to relax, I met Serenity's parents a few weeks ago when I came to pick her up for a picnic and they came out with a huge basket of food and snacks. They were amazing people, very nice and welcoming. Her dad kind of reminded me of an Underland version of Mario from the video games.

"Mr. Cassio." I called to the man to get his attention.

Immediately he turned, a giant smile forming on his face and he sprayed his arms open. "Gregor! Gregor, my boy! Wonderful, wonderful to see you! What is my honor to see you today?"

I tried to keep in my laughter but ended up chuckling a little, he could always make me feel better by just talking. "I uh, came to get Serenity. Princess Luxa wanted to have her to the palace for dinner."

He slapped his hands together, sending flour everywhere. "Yes! Of course! If the princess requests my daughter, my daughter she will get! Yes, yes! She is in the house, I will fetch her!"

"Thank you, Mr. Cassio." I laughed under my breath at his excitement.

He started waving his arms at me from the other side of the counter. "No, no. For you, Gregor, I am Cassio. Call me Cassio!" He removed his apron and pulled plate after plate out, placing them up on the display stands. "Eat! Eat all you wish! I will get Serenity. Eat!"

I heard Ares laughing from outside and shook my head. It didn't take long for Serenity to appear through the back door of the bakery; her house was built separate from the bakery but linked by a small backyard of sorts so a member of the family was always there.

She seemed a little confused but was smiling, her father hustled in behind her with his own proud grin. "Gregor." She greeted, placing a hand over her face to hide her laughter. "Did you enjoy the bread?"

I nodded, having been caught with a mouthful of her father's amazing wheat bread. "Is rwey goe." I told him, shooting him a thumbs up. I don't think I've ever seen Cassio more excited. I swallowed the carbs and offered her a hand. "You look beautiful, milady, are you ready?"

Serenity's expression softened at the compliment and placed her hand on mine which I immediately inclosed within my larger one. She did look amazing, wearing a short blue dress that stopped just above her knees and flowed in ruffles from her hips, like one of those that models twirl in for clothing ads. Her hair was down but the top half was braided along two semicircles, almost like a crown going to the back of her head, held up from behind by a pony tail and melted into the remaining strands. "Enjoy! Enjoy! Say hello the princess for me!"

"Of course, father." She waved as we walked out.

"You look beautiful." I whispered into her ear as we made it to a waiting Ares.

She giggled lightly and allowed me to help her onto my bond. "You told me this already."

I jumped up behind her, wrapping my arms tight around her slim frame and resting my head on her shoulder. "I could tell you a hundred more. You'll never guess what happened today."

Serenity shook her head and leaned into my chest. "Do tell."

"Well, Mareth let me try this exercise with blood balls and I ended up hitting all fifteen, which I guess was really impressive because only one other person has done it before."

She sat up and turned the best she could with my arms around her. "Gregor, that is wonderful!"

I accepted her kiss of congratulations and continued. "Yeah, so after that Luxa told me we needed to talk and we met after training. While we were talking, the alarm for gnawers in the city went off, but it turned out to only be Ripred and another rat that could smell colors. She sent me to check on Luxa who was in the royal chambers with her cousins from the Font-"

"Fount." She corrected me, looking forward as we approached High Hall. "Howard and his siblings?"

"Yeah, Luxa hinted that you guys might know each other."

"Oh, yes, I remember how miserable Luxa was when they would visit, even with my and Henry's presences." She sighed either at the memory or Henry's current situation. "Stellovet always tried to outdo Luxa and undermine her accomplishments."

I nearly laughed. "Nothing has changed. So, I walk in and Stellovet insults Henry in front of Luxa and tries to look tough, all while trying to get me to fall for her enchantments, which looked like really bad attempts to seduce a rock."

Serenity laughed, intertwining our fingers over her stomach. "Then Luxa told her I was escorting you to dinner and sent me to get you, but she told me yesterday that she wanted to invite you to the palace soon, anyway."

"Well, perfect timing then." She mused as Ares landed just outside a door I didn't recognize.

"This is a private dining room for more intimate gatherings." He told me and Serenity nodded like it was obvious, then again, she probably had meals here before.

I offered her my arm. "Welp, it's now or never. Ready, milady?" She leaned up to peck my lips and slipped her arm through mine, pulling me through the stone threshold.

* * *

 **So, we'll get to the quest soon, if not in the next chapter. I hope the direction I've taken isn't dragging the story on too much and is interesting. If it's not meeting your liking, feel free to let me know! I thrive on your guys' input!**

 **Always,**

 **Artemis.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well hello, and welcome to another chapter!**

 **"Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear" -unknown**

* * *

Walking into the dining room was the most awkward thing I've ever experienced.

Stellovet was glaring at Serenity as soon as we arrived, but I was immediately pulled away to the corner Luxa was attempting to hide in. "Luxa." Serneity called, her voice soft and mystified.

The princess gained a rare expression, speechless, as her old friend pulled her into a hug. "Serenity...I-it has been too long." She pulled away, mouth agap. "You have not changed a bit."

The baker laughed, holding her friend's arms with a gleeful smile; she looked so honestly happy, it was already rubbing off on my slightly sour mood. "And you a great deal! Look at you." Anything else she would have said was cut off by a quick squeal.

"'Renity!" Hero rushed over and bull rushed Serenity, almost knocking her off her feet. The two hugged before walking over to Kent, chatting excitedly.

I chuckled to myself. "I thought you two were the close ones." I asked Luxa while we watched the three.

She snorted lightly. "We were, by far, but Hero and Kent are also our age."

I glanced at her then back at them. "Really?"

"Seventeen." She hummed.

"Hm, did they come around a lot when you guys were younger?"

Luxa shrugged, obviously uninterested in talking about the past but the only other option was standing next to me in silence or worse, talking to Howard or Stellovet, so she entertained me. "Not particularly, but much more often when my mother was alive; her brother is their father, who runs The Fount. Stellovet always desired to come to Regalia because my people treated her and her siblings like royalty, but they are not, and Stellovet cannot stand it."

"She seems to like Serenity." I nodded my head at where all the siblings had grouped to talk to her. Stellovet had her arms cross but was smiling lightly as she watched Serenity catch up with Howard.

"Everyone likes Serenity." I looked at her but there were no traces of jealousy or spite, like it was simply a statement. "She has a way with people. She is kind, optimistic, an amazing friend."

Serenity suddenly appeared, wrapping herself on my arm with a gleeful smile. "Oh, Luxa, it has been wonderful to catch up with your cousins, I was not aware they were visiting!" I swallowed my laugh.

"Neither did I." The princess muttered, but put on the Luxa version of a happy expression, which was mostly a softening of her glare and a half smile. "It is terrific to have you here, Serenity."

The two embraced again, I couldn't help but smile as both Luxa and Serenity held the other tight, closing their eyes like they were honestly happy. "Come, let us eat and we may talk more." Luxa motioned towards the door and food started to file in.

Serenity sat next to Luxa at the head of the table, I took the seat next to her, Howard was next to me, the twins across him, and Stellovet across from me. Chimney insisted on sitting across from Serenity, though she hadn't made much attempt to talk to her past an initial hug, but I haven't heard her say much in the first place so I guess it wasn't too surprising.

I listened with amusement as the two friends chatted through dinner, until about halfway through when I felt a sporadic but constant nudge against my foot. I glanced across the table and my stomach dropped at the look Stellovet as giving me. She was glancing up at me through her eyelashes in several glimpses that only lasted a few moments before she'd go back to her food. The gross attempt at seduction continued through the meal, the flirtation underneath the table getting worse and worse. It got to the point that I desperately wanted to jump up and away from the table.

Serenity suddenly placed a hand on my shoulder as she laughed and I revealed in the distraction, turning to smile at her, trying to figure out what her and the royal were talking about. "I was telling Luxa of your struggle at the waterfall."

I rolled my eyes at her, taking her hand and intertwining our fingers, resting them on the table top for Stellovet to see. "Did you tell her about the sound you made when I scared you?" She stuttered and smacked my shoulder with her free hand, not bothering to unwrap our hands. A desert of some sort arrived and Stellovet no longer tapped my feet.

I caught Luxa's agitation as she glared at her cousin who stared down at her food, poking at it to look busy. One of the twins said something to redirect the princess, it must have been Kent because Hero was talking to Howard in a quiet side conversation. Both of them had basically avoided the whole dinner conversation happening with the girls, trying to stay out of the spotlight.

I drifted into their conversation about swords verses knives, periodically being dragged back into the girls when they would make fun of something I did. I was starting to really regret getting those two back together.

After dinner, we retired to the royal chambers; chatting about The Fount, Regalia, and a majority of questions for me about the Overland; until everyone but Luxa, Serenity, and I were left. Serenity took a moment to use the bathroom and silence fell between the royal and I. I leaned forward on my elbows and sighed, playing with my fingers to avoid awkward eye contact.

"Gregor." Luxa called, her voice even but quiet. "Thank you, for bringing her, for uniting us again. I did not realize how I missed my best friend, she brings me a sense of happiness I have not felt for a long time; one that I did not believe was possible for me to feel again."

I shifted, she was trying to be civil but maybe I was crazy for feeling really awkward about the girl I thought I loved and rejected me hanging out with the girl I had moved on with. "Gregor." Her voice became stern and annoyed, making me wince. "You cannot avoid speaking to me because you feel uncomfortable. Whatever occurred between the two of us is over, and I would never forgive myself if it affected how your relationship progressed with Serenity."

I dropped my head into my hands and groaned. "I'm sorry that you two being so close bothers me, and it shouldn't and I don't think it really does, but if you look at it from my perspective...it's not easy."

She looked down for a moment but met my gaze. "I would hate to sound too abrasive," I snorted and she tossed a pillow at me. "But deal with it, Warrior."

I laughed, throwing the pillow back to her, without aiming it at her head like she did to me, just as Serenity walked back into the atrium. "Oh how I have missed the palace bathrooms." The joke followed quickly by a yawn, even with her attempt to hide it behind her hand.

"Perhaps it is time for everyone to turn in." Luxa and I stood, she pulled Serenity into a tight hug. "I desperately hope this is not a solo occurrence, you may join us for a meal anytime."

Serenity nodded as they pulled away. "I will, absolutely."

"Come on, I'll bring you home." I took her hand and we walked out of the royal chambers where we were able to climb onto Ares's back.

We had just cleared High Hall's ceiling when Serenity spoke from behind me. "Gregor, may we speak?"

"Uh yeah, Ares can we go to the pool?" I frowned as my bond changed coarse, glad she couldn't see my face. We slipped off the bat's back and he fluttered to higher ground and give us a little bit of privacy. "Everything ok?"

Her face was neutral as she ran a finger over the smooth black rock in some unknown pattern. "I wish you would have told me. About you and Luxa."

I sighed, I was afraid she would say that. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Most of it."

I blew air out of the corner of my mouth and looked down as well. "I'm sorry I didn't. I was thinking about when I was going to tell you, then Luxa wanted you to come to dinner, but she only told me that earlier tonight." I paused, trying to calm my speech down, having sped up as I talked.

"I was attracted to her when I first fell, we kissed a couple of times, and talked a lot during the quest. I thought we had connected, but when we got back she told me Underlanders and Overlanders couldn't be together; at least not royals. She couldn't let Howard or his siblings take over Regalia, so she made it clear it wasn't going to happen." I ended up tracing patterns on the stone as well, saying it all out loud didn't make the pill any easier to swallow. "She told me to move on."

Her hand covered mine and I met her gaze. Her violet eyes were soft and my shoulders relaxed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I've been trying not to dwell in the pain, when I'm with you, I forget about it. I've never been able to open up about my life and my issues with anyone, I've never felt the way I do with you. I promise I've moved on from whatever that was with Luxa."

Serenity nodded. "I believe you." She caressed my cheek and yanked gently on my ear to make me laugh. "Thank you for bringing me tonight, I cannot explain what it has meant to me to speak to Luxa again after so many years."

I stood, pulling her with me, and gave her a kiss. "Anything for you, milady. Let's get you home before Cassio hunts me down."

She laughed, the sound like wind chimes in summer, and pulled me towards Ares. "My father adores you."

I shrugged, climbing up behind her. "Can't blame him. Ow!" I rubbed my knee where she smacked it solidly with an open hand. I laughed and wrapped my arms around her, forcing her to accept my affection.

I woke the next morning on my own with a heavy heart. Having my father and little sister come back to Regalia should have been more comforting after not having them in my life for so long, Boots not at all until now, but the reason why they came was keeping me from being too excited for the reunion.

They arrived just before lunch when I returned from training. Ares flew into High Hall with them, Boots slid off his back as soon as he landed to give Temp a hug. My dad slipped down and thanked my bond, walking over to hug me. "You look well." He said with a grin.

"Greggy!" Boots jumped into my arms and I laughed, spinning around with the eight year old in my arms.

She held my face in her hands as she kissed my cheeks, forehead, nose. "Hey, little girl."

Vikus greeted my father and urged us to the council room where the more fine details of the quest. I sat next to the old man at his end of the table while, for some reason, Howard had already taken a seat across from me. Was there a reason why he was here? He was just visiting.

The council went back and forth between a lot of topics, but the most interesting was the location of where the white rat was hiding. Regalia's spies, even though they hadn't actually seen it personally, were confident it was hiding somewhere called the Labyrinth. By definition, I knew it was a maze like from Greek mythology, and Ares whispered the confirmation that the Underland version was true to that description.

I sat back with my arms crossed as the council talked about how and where they wanted the quest to access the Labyrinth. I had yet to say anything during the meeting, and I could feel Luxa's eyes on the side of my head.

Every option that was presented was also shot down as too dangerous since the Labyrinth was so remote, located out further than the humans' range of control and farther than the council was comfortable going without a solid plan. It was seriously boring me.

"That leaves the Waterway." Vikus finally said, frowning at the idea. "It is the least treacherous, though, still not ideal."

"What about the serpents?" Howard piped up, he had been pretty vocal during the meeting which only made me purse my lips, he had no say in where we went if he wasn't going. "Their mating season is nearly upon us."

Vikus nodded. "Yet another reason to begin our journey at once, perhaps the party can make it across before the serpents awaken."

I hadn't realised we had moved on until I heard my sister's nickname. "...Boots should remain in Regalia under guard."

I immediately shook my head, but I understood why; bringing Boots would put her right in the middle of no doubt several dangerous situations, but with how easily Ripred got into the city, I wouldn't trust anyone other than myself to protect her. "She's coming with me or I don't go." I said, the tone of my voice silenced the upcoming protests. Their expressions showed surprise and I didn't care if I was 'out of line' or not.

It seemed like all of the decisions were made, because Vikus sent me out to prepare for the quest. I went to the museum to look for flashlights and picked up four, then tested so many batteries I lost count. As I was looking around, I also saw a few life jackets, the vast Waterway flashed through my mind and I quickly grabbed them; I didn't know if Boots could swim well yet, but if she did end up in the water, I wanted to be safe.

I ended up taking a roll of duct tape as well and a few candy bars, just in case.

Ares caught up with me as I was walking to the nursery to pick up Boots only to find out she was already at the docks. I hopped onto his back and we quickly made our way to the river since it was the quickest way to the Waterway.

When we arrived, Underlanders were prepping two boats; they were the same kind of long boats that Boots and I had fallen into months ago. Now that I had a better look at them, they looked a lot like the ones Native Americans used. I remembered seeing similar ones in museums, since I spent quite a bit of time in them; there were several that had free admission and had the best seasonal protection. The information I learned was valuable too, since I never finished fourth grade.

The biggest difference than the Natives' was the huge, gray fish fin. It looked like it was taken straight off a mammoth animal, strapped to the boat with other fins along the sides to act as advanced steering; a bone stuck out of the back, connecting to the lower fin to act as a rudder.

"Aren't we flying?" I asked the old man as the loading was finishing up.

"Yes, but the Waterway is very far-reaching and provides little to no hospitable places for rest," He supplied as he watched. "No flier would have the stamina to cross it, so much of your trip will be by sea."

I sighed, trips by air were so much faster than boat, that's why airplane travel was so popular in the Overland while ships were used almost purely for recreational purposes, and the idea frustrated me; it would take forever to reach the Bane.

Twitchtip suddenly appeared, very reluctantly, and tried to find a far corner away from everyone. Dulcet helped me get the life jacket on Boots, it was just a tad bit too big, but I felt infinitely better once she had it on. I didn't put the second one on right away since I was a good swimmer, but as I saw Temp shaking anxiously at the edge of the dock, and I got an idea. "Temp, are you coming with us?"

"Vikus says I may, he says." Temp confirmed so I offered him the life jacket and, after a long explanation that it would help him float, he allowed it, but mostly because the princess was wearing one too.

As I finished the straps, Luxa, Solovet, Mareth, and Howard made their way out of the palace. Luxa and Solovet had on gowns instead of pants like when we left for the first quest. "You're going with us, right?" I frowned.

"No, I cannot." Luxa gritted her teeth, clearly dissatisfied with the turnout. "I was only allowed to participate in the first quest because The Prophecy of Gray dictated it. This journey has been deemed too dangerous for a queen." She glanced at Vikus at the end, making it obvious he had a part in keeping her in Regalia.

I tried not to get angry, Luxa wouldn't have allowed this to happen without putting up a fight, but I still felt a little mad that she wasn't coming; I wasn't sure if it was directed towards her or the council. "So who _is_ going then?"

"The openings were limited, but we were not lacking volunteers." I frowned a little harder, he made it sound like this was some camping trip, not a death wish. "Besides yourself, Ares, Boots, Temp, Twitchtip, and we will send Mareth and Howard with their fliers."

I took a breath to keep the protest from vocalizing. "Howard?"

"Howard is an excellent fighter," Solovet jumped in. "And he is well versed in that of water travel, the council agreed he would be valuable in the journey; we were fortunate his visit accompanied the arrival of your sister."

I gave a minimal nod, glancing at Luxa to see her barely concealed anger; if I didn't like Howard going, I couldn't imagine how pissed she was that he got the call instead of her. "Ripred?" I hate to admit it, but the old rat helped keep me calm, his fighting skills making me feel safer, now that I was decently sure he wouldn't kill me.

"He left this morning for the Dead Land." Vikus said. "The boats are loaded, we best be getting you on your way!"

Ares landed back on the dock and I hadn't even realised he was gone. "The river is hazardous, we will fly to the Waterway before boarding the boats." I sighed and took Boots's hand, climbing on his back while Temp scurried on behind us. Twitchtip slipped into one of the boats and disappeared into the depths, her nose poked out in search of the breeze; she might be the only one more miserable than me on this trip.

* * *

 **Welp, that's what I got. Thank you to everyone who dropped a review on the last chapters! I love this story a lot, but sometimes it's so hard for my (undiagnosed) ADHD to sit down and put all my ideas onto 'paper'. Especially since I'm like half way into Warmbloods in my head.**

 **Anyway, I'll keep pushing myself because I do love writing this as much as I'm sure you love to read it.**

 **Always,**

 **Artemis.**


	5. Chapter 5

**:) I reread the reviews from the last chapter probably a million times, they in addition to the past reviews, were just so amazing. I didn't stop smiling until I fell asleep. You guys are amazing and so supportive, but you're so intelligent with what you say it's just...I'm at a loss for words. Every review that comes into my inbox is so thought out and honest, it's incredible and I don't know how to thank you other than continuing to write.**

 **"Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come put with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even." -In honour of the Greatest, Muhammad Ali.**

* * *

I wasn't sure how long we flew before the bats set the boats down into the water, I was mostly just trying to zone out so it would go faster, but tried my best to help out as we all dismounted our respective bonds. Howard landed in the other boat with Twitchtip while Ares and I, along with Mareth and his bond, took up ground in the other.

"Gregor, meet you my bond, Andromeda." Mareth introduced me to the gold and black speckled bat. I thought it was strange I hadn't officially met her until now when I realised she was hurt during the battle between Shed and Fangor on the beach when we left for the quest. I tried not to feel guilty about it since it was my sister that caused the issue.

"It's nice to finally meet you." I nodded to her.

"I am honored to met you also, Gregor." She purred and I relaxed, she didn't seem angry at all.

Mareth motioned at the other boat to introduce Howard's bond, Pandora with amazing rust red fur, but all she gave me was a simple "Greetings."

"Greggy." Boots whined, yanking at our intertwined hands; she had been attempting to get her hand out of mine for several minutes after we landed.

I sighed and squatted to her level, taking her other hand and waving them in between us. "Alright but you have to stay in the boat, you understand me?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yup. Stay in the boat!" Reluctantly, I allowed her to move as she wished, but the boat was so deep the sides were over her head anyway, they came up to mid chest on me if I stood in the middle, and it helped me relax a little bit.

I ran my hand over the rim of the twenty foot vessel which was made of some kind of bone, whatever animal it came from had to have been huge, with animal hide stretched and stitched together. A plank stretched along the inside to give us a platform to walk along.

Mareth worked to lift a wooden mast in the front of the boat, securing it to the base. It was only the second wooden thing I'd seen in the Underland, the other being the door for Sandwich's prophecy room.

In the back half of the boat, behind the few leather benches, were a ton of supplies; mostly food. "That's a lot of food, do you think we'll really need all of this?"

"Not by ourselves, but most of it is for the shiners, for they require the largest amount of food." Mareth grumbled.

"Shiners?"

Mareth glanced up. "Vikus did not tell you?" I frowned, feeling very out of the loop, and shook my head. "On long voyages such as this, we do not waste supply space with all the fuel needed to provide light, so we hire shiners to aid us. Here they are now."

I followed the direction of his nod and out of the darkness, two specks of light became closer and closer; as they went, the lights would turn on and off, flickering until the two giant bugs landed on the bow of the boats.

Seeing them up close, I finally recognized them, but Boots beat me to it. "Fireflies! Giant fireflies!" She jumped up and down, half in excitement half in attempt to get a better look over the side of the tall boats. I scooped her up and put her on my shoulders where she excitedly drummed on the top of my head.

A memory of my family's farm in Virginia flashed through my mind, the little lights twinkled at the edge of the woods made it look like another world. The Underland versions that were three feet tall were kind of frightening in comparison, I was surprised Boots was so excited.

"Greetings, Shiners." Mareth bowed to them.

"Greetings, all." One of them responded in an annoyingly high, whiny voice that immediately made me regret this decision. "I am he called Photos Glow-Glow and she is Zap."

Immediately, the other firefly protested that she wanted to do the introduction and they spent the next few hours arguing about just about anything they could; from where they were sitting, who would take which shift, and even who Temp should serve. Temp spoke up uncharacteristically, "Only the princess, Temp serves, only the princess." The force in his voice cutting off further discussion.

Mareth tried feeding them but it only made them argue about the other's eating habits. "Are they always like this." I whispered to the soldier from our spot in the back of the boat.

"Truthfully, these two are not as bad as others I have traveled with." Mareth responded, eyeing the two bugs. "I once saw a pair of shiners try to fight to the death over a piece of cake."

"What stopped them?" I droned, almost wishing that would happen here.

"Shiners are not capable fighters, they tire quickly, so they accused each other of cheating somehow and gave up; they sulked over it for several days."

"Do we really need them?" I dropped my head into my hands and bit my lip to keep the groan of frustration in as another ridiculous brawl broke out between the two of them, something about milk.

"Unfortunately, yes."

At this point, even Boots who had been distracting herself by playing some version of fetch with Temp, was getting irritated by the pair. "Glow-Glow too loud!" She bounced her ball off the firefly's glowing butt.

"Glow-Glow? I am he called Photos Glow-Glow, and will answer to no other name!" The bug shreked, thoroughly offended.

"She's just a kid." I picked up, not appreciating it-him-whatever yelling at my little sister.

"If she cannot say my full name, then I cannot understand her!" It huffed.

I sneered and I'm sure I would have said something out of line if Twitchtip hadn't piped up to save me. "Allow me to interpret," She said lazily, not even bothering to move from her spot on the floor of the other boat. "She's saying that if you don't stop your constant jabbing at each other, the annoyed rat in the boat next to you will rip your head off."

Twitchtip instantly became my best friend, because I could have explained the silence after her threat as heaven.

We were a decent way into the Waterway by then, no land was visible as only miles and miles of water stretched on; before it was somewhat calm, but now waves lapped up at the sides and a breeze cut into the boats. It would have been a decent environment for a cruise if the situation hadn't been so grim.

I offered to help Mareth string up the silk sail but he gratefully declined it and soon he and Howard had us cruising. The bats had huddled together on Howard's boat but Ares stayed with me, and I leaned up against his warm, black fur. We had gotten pretty close, and even though it was hard to completely open up to him since he didn't understand all of the Overland differences, he and I bonded over our rough lives; apparently a life with Henry wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but I didn't push him just like he didn't force anything out of me.

"Hey Ar, how long will it take us to get to the Labyrinth by boat?" I asked, fiddling with some leather straps I found in the armoury; I had decided to attach them to the hilt of my dad's sword so I could have a little insurance in case it slipped out of my hand. Right now I was experimenting with different braid patterns to make it look less like two leather strips and more aesthetically pleasing, at least to me.

"About five days." He purred back easily. "It would be less time if we flew, but very few bats could make the journey without rest. No one has ever tried it."

"You could make it." I grinned up at him, he had proved how strong and fast he was and I believed that 100%.

He glanced down at me in appreciation. "I have thought that I might try it someday, to see if I could accomplish it."

"That reminds me of Charles Lindbergh, he was the first person to fly over an ocean by himself." I mused, mostly to myself because I knew Ares wouldn't really understand.

The black flier's curiosity seemed to be peaked at the idea of someone having done something like that before. "He had wings?"

I smiled as the historic event ran through my mind, it was pretty popular exhibit in a lot of museums and I had all but memorized it. "Yeah kinda, mechanical ones. He was a human, but a plane did the flying for him, it's basically a machine that flies. Because of him, people fly across the ocean in huge planes all the time now."

"He is famous in the Overland?"

"He was, but he's dead now. He lived like forty years ago." The rest of Lindbergh's life, like the war and his baby being abducted, was a little off topic and probably would be too hard for me to explain, so I kept that part to myself.

Ares nodded and seemed genuinely interested in the story which made me smile that I could use something from the Overland to inspire him. I stopped messing around with my sword to look over the worn parchment with the Prophecy of Bane written on it; my eyes immediately finding the lines about Boots's apparent death.

I glanced up at her, singing to Temp in her soft, angelic little kid voice. My heart hurt with the idea of anyone, anything, purposely trying to harm her. Killing her wouldn't solve anything. Killing the Bane wouldn't solve anything either, not really. The Underland would basically be in one loop of a war as a key puzzle piece for each side gets taken out in revenge for the last, over and over and over.

"Can rats swim?" I asked my bond after a few minutes, glancing over the side of the boat at the large expanse of open water.

"Yes but not as far out as we are. Rats cannot reach her here." His voice was low and comforting like he picked up on my thoughts. I nodded, thankful for his answer but the thought of eventually coming close to land again still poked in the back of my mind.

Mareth lowered the sails and called everyone to dinner, the shiners eating with enthusiasm even though they just ate. He and Howard worked to attach the two boats, ours being hooked to the back of Howard's. "Howard and I will take turns sailing while the rest sleep, but we need someone on guard and one shiner on duty at all times."

"Zap will take the first shift." Photos Glow-Glow piped up immediately, his voice pompous. "My light requires more energy."

"It is a lie!" Zap retorted. "I can only make one color, but the effort is the same. He only says this so he will be given more food and less work!"

I almost laughed at how riled up the simple topic had them. "Glow-Glow will take the first shift, or I'll rip his wings to sheds." Twitchtip interjected, settling the manner in seconds from the depths of the front boat. "Who wants to watch with him?"

"We can switch guards every two hours or so." Mareth injected. I was dead, but I knew if I took the first watch I could sleep the longest, so I volunteered.

Howard took the rudder first, Pandora folding up to sleep next to him, and Photos Glow-Glow put on a soft orange light on our boat to brighten the area between us while his counterpart put out her light and began to snore. I called Boots over and took the life jacket off so she could lay more comfortably, setting it down for her to use as a pillow where she would be protected by Temp in the back of our boat. Wordlessly, Ares perched himself next to them. Mareth stretched out on the floor while Andromeda watched over him.

I took up residence on the supplies with one hand wrapped around the hilt of my dad's sword, secured by the leather strap, and set the blade on my lap. The supplies lifted me over the high edge and I set my forearm over it, looking over at the water as everyone finally settled in. The boat rocked with the waves and the vast emptiness worked to gnaw at my reserve.

My eyelids started to get heavy as my thoughts wandered around as they had been the last few days, keeping me awake despite the softest bed I've ever had. I tried to move the arm resting on the boat to rub my face only to have it stay put.

A cold hand wrapped around my wrist and yanked, squeezing hard. I grumbled in protest. "Boots, what is it?" No answer came but the pressure increased and her nails started to dig into my flesh, causing real pain. "Boots." I swiped the back of my other hand at my eyes and opened them to see my little sister dead asleep on the other side of the boat.

I jumped, suddenly alert as the facts didn't add up. I met the point of pain on my arm, not seeing a small hand, but a red tentacle.

"Ares!" I managed to yell just before the tentacle ripped me clear out of the boat. I took a breath just as my head dunked under the water, falling up to my waist before a counter tug on my leg by sharp claws kept me from slipping further.

I flared my free arm around, the leather strap kept my sword from disappearing into the depths but I was having a hard time getting a grip on the hilt while being yanked up and down by my bond and the squid. I tried to open my eyes only to have them burn at the saltiness of the water. Suddenly, my fingertips grazed the bottom jewel and I lunged forward to finally get a hold of the weapon.

With my dad's sword, I swung wildly at the two tentacles wrapped around my left arm and with no more resistance, Ares was able to launch into the air. I sputtered, gasping for air after probably more than a minute of wrestling underwater, closing my eyes to avoid seeing the steep distance back to the boat.

"Gregor!" Mareth yelled as I stumbled after Ares dropped me off to continue fighting. "Can you fight?"

I finally got to my feet, my grip on my dad's sword tightening when I saw the dozens of tentacles thrashing at the two boats from the water. They held tight to anything they touched and my arm ached at the sight, but I decided not to look at it in case it looked just as bad as it felt. "I'm here!" I yelled back, calming my frenzied emotions and trying to focus on the moves the soldier taught me.

One tentacle caught my ankle and I hacked it off with a "Gah!" I looked around in a little bit of a crazed surprise, able to see my fellow passengers thanks to the intense light Photos Glow-Glow and Zap were producing but as well from the bright luminous glimmer from the water that just didn't seem natural. They attacked with anything they had; swords, teeth, claws; trying to cut down the never ending rampage of faceless appendages.

I shook my head and got to work, fighting off the squid like tentacles without any wild happenings until my bond called out to me. "Gregor, your sister!" I turned to see my brave cockroach protector haplessly snapping at tentacles as they tried to reach the sleeping form of my sister until one suctioned to the life jacket I secured around him. I clenched my teeth as he was yanked towards the water, relieved that Ares dove in to fight for him so I could focus completely on defending my sister.

One tentacle latched onto her blanket and that sensation kicked in again, the one I experienced with the blood balls. Everything around me faded out except for the squids, and my arm moved my dad's sword before I could form the thought to do it, slicing the tentacles with skill and accuracy.

My mind blanked as tentacle after tentacle fell at my feet until a loud 'clank' erupted in my ears and my dad's sword contacted something hard and metallic. The stark difference from the soft flesh knocked me flat on my butt. "Gregor! Gregor, enough!"

The world came back to me in a rush and I found myself in a nearly foot deep pile of severed tentacles, gasping for air as the work out suddenly hit me. Mareth abruptly appeared in my face. "They are gone, Gregor. It is over." I blinked at the soldier and barely managed a nod. My body ached, my left arm was throbbing, spiking pain up my arm. I finally looked down at it to see the four blazing red sucker marks beginning to swell dramatically, oozing nasty pus.

I looked back to Mareth, sweat starting to pour off my forehead and dizziness over coming my eyesight. I heard him start to shout something, maybe to Howard, but my upper body became too heavy to hold up and I flopped hard against the floor of the boat. Something pressed against my lips and I barely heard the order to drink. The liquid hit my stomach and not a moment later, the dark ceiling gave way to the black of my own eyelids.

* * *

 **My lovely people, I can't thank you enough, and I hope I never disappoint.**

 **Yours,**

 **Artemis.**


	6. Chapter 6

**"Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best." -St. Jerome**

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I was dead. I had to be.

I came to this conclusion through two ways. One: the pain in my arm couldn't be natural, so therefore, there's no way I wasn't in hell; and two: when I cracked my eyes, I saw an angel.

A bright, yellow light shone behind her head where her hair created a silver glow around her. She saw me move and smiled, her teeth all I could see thanks to the light burning my retinas. I opened my mouth to call out to her only to have something forced against my lips, her voice rang in my ears but I couldn't recognize what she was saying; a liquid started to flow from whatever was against my lips and down my throat.

I managed to swallow everything she fed me and I tried to say something, but the light behind her seemed to get even brighter until I had to close my eyes. I quickly lost consciousness again.

* * *

When I woke for the second time, I felt a lot better than before, but my arm still throbbed in misery. I could tell a lot of time had passed, though I wasn't sure how much. I groaned and rubbed my face with my good hand.

"I leave you for one day and you cannot keep yourself out of trouble?" A girl's voice called, traces of amusement clear, as a cool towel ran over my sticky forehead, wiping away the dry sweat.

I opened my eyes completely and was hit with confusion like a truck. "Mareth!" I called, trying to sit up and move away from the person kneeling next to me. "I'm hallucinating!"

The soldier appeared, his expression clearly concerned. The girl seemed to be less uneasy, mostly confused and slightly amused by the outburst, one silver eyebrow peaked. "What are you seeing, Gregor?" He asked.

I looked into the brilliant violet eyes of the girl next to me, trying to see any discrepancies in her appearance, searching to see if her form was a mirage. "Luxa."

Mareth frowned as the princess laughed. "Fear not, Gregor, for the Queen is not a figment of your fever. Though, she should be." Luxa's laughter died away and it became obvious the soldier was angry at her, whether she was his queen or not, he was also her trainer and friend, and clearly didn't mind letting her know his opinion.

"Oh, Mareth," She shook her head with a small smile, wiping at my forehead again; I tried to stay as still as a statue as I glanced up at Mareth, I didn't want to experience his wrath just because she was focusing on me instead of flying back to Regalia. "How long will you remain angry with me?" She met my gaze and began to talk to me. "It has already been a day since I arrived." Her voice rose just a little so it would drift over her shoulder to him. "No one will blame you for my disobedience."

The soldier crossed his arms. "That is besides the point, Luxa. This journey is very dangerous, and what if you die? Regalia would only have Nerissa to turn to, can you imagine what will happen to the city? To Nerissa?" I flashed to the frail girl I had only met briefly, there's no way she could rule the way Luxa would have; the confidence, knowledge, the diplomacy, she didn't have the strength to handle all of that.

"Your fear would be realised," I found myself piping up and almost flinched at the glare I received from the royal, but I couldn't help from continuing. "You know, where you'd rather die than see Howard and his family rule Regalia?"

Luxa lowered her gaze as her cousin could clearly hear from the second boat and I realised how spiteful my slip made her sound, a few moments passed with thick silence before he spoke. "Nerissa would abdicate." His expression neutral but I'm sure hearing Luxa's issue with his side of their family wasn't easy to swallow. He was stoic and suddenly looked his age, which Ares mentioned was around twenty four. I could see the muscles in his jaw flex as he tried to be mature and hold his tongue, keeping himself from lashing out further.

"She would do no such thing!" Luxa stood at her comment, fists tight and turning as white as the towel she was holding. "She will rule if I die, and not your family or your despicable sister!"

Mareth hung his head and turned, retreating to the back of the boat. I wish I could do the same, but I had barely managed to stand and Luxa had all but trapped me at the bow of our boat in the middle of the argument. Our boat was still connected to be stern of the lead boat, which Howard was steering.

"Think what you may, cousin, but do not judge me off of Stellovet's actions. She is wretched, I will admit that, but I can control her no more than you could control Henry." He stared past me to the royal with a rigid expression and a bitter tone. "You think I wish to be king? _I_ think you have me confused with another."

Luxa's face grew red with anger. "If _you_ think I believe you innocent, you are surely mistaken. I saw the way you tormented Nerissa, she is frail and scared because of your family."

"When did I ever do this? I have hardly spent five minutes with her!" Howard threw the hand not on the rudder up in exasperation.

"Henry saw you-" Luxa began but was promptly cut off by her cousin.

" _Henry_ told you this? I cannot believe you have not questioned everything Henry ever told you, Luxa!" His voice was loud now, harsh, and frustrated. It sounded like he was going to continue but let out a huff of breath and snapped forward to properly steer the two boats.

"Too loud, like Glow-Glow." Boots said into the silence.

"Photos Glow-Glow!" The firefly immediately cried out only to be hushed by Twitchtip.

I sat down again as my head started to swim from looking back and forth between the two like a tennis match. Boots quickly padded over, pressing her hands against my cheeks. "Hi, you."

She promptly brought a smile to my face, though a little difficult with her hands depressing my facial muscles. "Hi, you. What's up, little girl?"

"You were asleep for a long time!" She scolded, wagging one pudgy finger in my face. I tried not to laugh. "We ate breakfast, two times!"

"I'm sorry, Boots, but I'm up now."

She gave me one nod, glancing over her shoulder for a second. "Bye." I shook my head and chuckled under my breath.

"You are quite good with her." Luxa spoke softly. She was sitting on the floor of the boat, just in front of my outstretched feet, her head down.

I glanced up at her and couldn't help a small smile. "Sometimes I have no idea what to say to her, I feel like I don't know her at all."

The princess nodded. "The lovely part of children is their ability to speak to anyone. Treat anyone, if they have known them for years or minutes, as if they have for their whole lives. You will learn from her soon enough."

"Thanks." It was my turn to cast my eyes down to my lap as guilt started to rear its head again. "I'm sorry, for starting that fight between you two. It wasn't my place to bring that up."

Luxa shook her head apathetically, inspecting one of the many daggers she had strapped to various places on her person. "I believe it would have come out eventually, perhaps it was best it did now instead in the heat of battle."

Mareth stepped over Luxa's legs to hand me some much needed food and water. "So, how is it?" I asked, pointing to my bandaged arm with my head as I chewed.

The soldier leaned against the animal skin and crossed his arms. "It is not for the faint hearted. You can thank Howard for saving it."

I swallowed my last bite hard, cradling my left arm to my chest, but not too tight as the pressure started to burn. "Save it? You were going to cut it off?!" I exclaimed, not mad, more surprised, I was not expecting it to have been that bad.

"We would have had no choice if the venom had spread any further." Mareth said sympathetically. "Howard was able to suck it from the sounds."

I tried not to barf at the idea. "Thanks, Howard." I called to him, moving my fingers in appreciation. Luxa scoffed silently and I sent her a glare, I was getting pretty tired of her 'hate Howard under any costs' attitude.

"I am trained in water aid," He called back. "I have sworn to save anyone in peril."

"Like a doctor." I said, more to myself, but he heard it and chuckled lightly; I swear I heard him mutter something about 'not yet'.

Silence fell over the two boats, save Boots's light singing to Temp, and I sighed against my makeshift bed of nets and blankets. I felt like I should be doing something, but I was so exhausted from the squid's venom. I doubt I could even lift my dad's sword, let alone practice with Mareth or Luxa.

I stared up at the vast nothingness of the black ceiling, however many miles above was a separate, fully functioning world with no idea of the perils of this one. I couldn't help but feel guilty that I couldn't stay alert while I was on guard. I mean we probably still would have been attacked, but at least those asleep would have had more of a warning.

I sighed, running my good hand over my face again. This had been such a horrible habit since I arrived in the Underland; I couldn't think of anyone besides myself. I couldn't take care of Boots, of Ares, Temp, or even Howard, Mareth, and their bonds. All I thought of during that fight was keeping myself safe, I don't even remembering checking on Ares after he saved my ass by pulling me out of the water before I drowned; when I stood earlier, I vaguely remember seeing sucker marks where the hair had been pulled out on him and Twitchtip. They seemed okay, but I couldn't help but wonder if I had been able to warn them sooner, we could have gotten out of that fight scratch free.

"How are you feeling?" Luxa's soft question interrupted my self loathing.

I glanced up at her over my stomach. "Better after some food, I guess. So, why did you come?"

"You may have need of my skills, you have depended on it before." She returned, sharpening a dagger and testing it on a piece of rope. I raised an eyebrow, much like she often did to me, until she looked over at my silence. "What?"

I gave her an unbelieving look. "Really?"

"Yes!" She scoffed louder, quickly glancing over her shoulder to see if Mareth had caught the outburst. I kept my mouth shut and stared at her until she rolled her eyes. "Is that not enough?"

I shrugged the best I could while laying down. "I think there's more, but whatever you have to tell yourself."

"I care for all on this quest." I had almost fallen asleep when she finally pipped up. "And if something would happen to one of you, and if I could have helped, or even prevented it, but remained in Regalia...I could never move on from that."

I nodded, more satisfied with the new answer. I saw an honest struggle in her eyes. Luxa wasn't the kind of person that could sit on the sidelines while something like this journey to kill the Bane when on, sitting on a throne until a messenger delivered the good or bad news. It just didn't suit her. I knew, at that moment, she would be the best Queen the Underland would ever see; so I guess as the Warrior, now it was my job to keep her safe so she could make it to her coronation and do just that.

"It looks pretty sharp." I nodded as she had frowned at the blade after running it through the rope.

"Not enough for what we face." She muttered and continued.

I wasn't sure how many hours passed after our conversation died, I had definitely fallen asleep once or twice. Mareth corralled the bats in from their flights. He put Pandora and Ares on guard, but I had the feeling I wouldn't be considered for that job for quite a while.

"Something isn't right." Twitchtip said, standing for the first time during the whole trip. Her nose twitched left and right, her head snapped to the side.

"More squid?" I winced at the idea.

"No, it isn't an animal, but something's not right."

"Not right in what way?" Mareth tried.

"With the water."

"How so?" Howard asked. "Is it tainted? Filled with debris?"

The rat shook her head, really struggling to explain. "No, I'd recognize those things. It is something I do not have a word for."

Just as I was trying to think of another way to explain what she couldn't, the water underneath us started to churn. Suddenly we all knew the word that Twitchtip was inept to find. "Whirlpool!"

* * *

 **Sorry it's a bit short, I wanted the next scene to be the next dramatic action and yeah. It was still 2k+ so ^_^ anyway, hope you all enjoyed and I'd love to hear from all you lovelies!**

 **Yours,**

 **Artemis**


	7. Chapter 7

**"In order to succeed, we must first believe we can." -** **Nikos Kazantzakis.**

* * *

Vivid flashbacks assaulted my mind as the boats began to thrash around the outer edges of the whirlpool. I squeezed my eyes shut as panic started to well up in my throat.

The only time I left the United States was when I got an under the table job on a fishing boat to catch fish in the frozen waters of the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea, over by Russia. I was fifteen and I didn't have any kind of identification, so the Russian captain thought it would be easy to stash me below deck in exchange for cheap labor. I was starved, not eating right for weeks, and desperate for any kind of income. I was clearly not thinking straight. I probably almost died three dozen times, every day.

I clutched the seat at the bottom of the canoe with my eyes so tight, I was seeing stars. All the memories were almost overwhelming. "Gregor!" I heard Mareth call. "To your feet, Warrior!"

As I found my legs, the Underlanders weren't any better than me; they looked around in confusion like they weren't sure how to react to this type of emergency. From my experience, they usually jumped into some highly practiced crisis response maneuvers, but now it was almost like none of them had even thought to deal with whirlpools.

I looked over the side of the boat, but we were still too far from the action to see the scale of the problem, even with Photos Glow-Glow and Zap going at full blast. I ruffled through my bag for the industrial sized flashlight I found, flicking it on towards the thrashing water. The sight was something that belonged in fiction novels.

We bobbed at the edge of a giant vortex, the furthest ring was at least a hundred meters across, it spun so fast it made me dizzy. All the circles lead to the black hole in the middle, sucking anything within reach to an unknown death.

Mareth was shouting at Howard, gesturing towards the tether ropes that linked our boats. Howard had his sword out and Mareth pointed at the bats. "-the fliers will carry us!"

I strained to hear the medical trainee as he shook his head. "-can only carry one boat. Do it! Pandora can come back for me!" With a few broad hacks, the ropes gave way and we lurched apart, sending us back towards calm water as the other boat was sucked into the spinning whirlpool.

Managing to hold onto the edge, I watched helplessly as Howard, Pandora, Twitchtip, and Zap were sucked into the vigorous cycle around the whirlpool's rings. My stomach fell when I realized we were next.

 _Boots._ My mind rushed as I dove back to the little girl, fumbling with the straps of her life jacket so she could stand a chance in case we get thrown out. I was really regretting the decision to take it off so she could sleep.

I looked over to see us on the verge of being yanked down behind the lead boat as well, when we were suddenly lifting away from the water. I craned my neck and nearly shouted with glee. The fliers, I had totally forgotten they could fly us away!

Aurora and Andromeda held the front while Ares and Pandora took the rear. "Go, Pandora! Ares can hold it!" Mareth called and the bat transferred its ropes to my bond before jet lining down to the flag ship.

 _Man, he's strong._ I grinned up at the big black bat as he worked with the other two fliers to bring our boat a safe distance away. We hovered about fifty feet above the water, despite being far enough from the whirlpool to be sucked in. I could hardly see the struggle below anymore.

Zap suddenly appeared and it made sense why we couldn't see the boat anymore, she was assigned to it. "This is such an inconvenience." She droned. "It was my sleep time, I hope Photos Glow-Glow does not think this means I will cover his next shift."

"Zap!" I snapped, beyond frustrated with her and her partner's constant complaining. "Get down there so they can see!"

"Oh, no." Photos Glow-Glow jumped in, actually _yawning_. "We never agree to go into dangerous situations, we are not fed enough for that."

I nearly screamed but directed my flashlight down at the boat like a spotlight. The scene was hard to watch. Twitchtip held tight to the mast as the boat reached the inner rings, getting closer to the black hole. Howard fearlessly jumped from the bobbing craft as Pandora swooped in, catching his arms in her claws like some kind of extreme trust jump. She dropped him in our boat, sopping wet.

She went to the stern and returned to her place holding the second rope. I frowned. "Wait, what about Twitchtip?" The Underlanders shared a look. I looked from Mareth, Luxa, and Howard, but none of them showed any sign of mounting up and diving down to save the rat. "She'll drown!"

"It is not possible, Gregor." Mareth said, regretfully shaking his head. "We cannot reach her with the boat, and a single flier could not retrieve her. It is simply not possible, I am sorry."

"Luxa?" I turned to the royal, hoping to get some kind of support from her, but she simply shook her head in the same way.

"I believe Mareth is right, we will risk more with the effort to retrieve her than the likelihood of success." She cast her eyes down.

I shook my head in disbelief, unable to grasp their complete one eighty attitudes. Before, they would risk everything to save one another, unless of course, it involved a species they didn't like. "Ripred said she can help navigate the Labyrinth, we need her!"

None of them moved. Mareth finally piped up. "The fliers will be significant, and they can be trusted."

My mouth fell open and I looked away from them in utter disbelief. "I understand now, it's because she's a rat, and you don't rescue _rats_. Howard was down there not even a minute ago and you were willing to risk the boat to just Ares in order to save him!" I turned to the Fount boy who still panted slightly, dripping wet from the encounter. "It's only because she's a rat! A life is a life, and no one life deserves to be saved over another! You don't get to pick who should be saved and who doesn't even get an attempt!"

My accusation obviously made him uncomfortable as well as the other Underlanders. I was gearing up to give them another earful when a thunderous crack from below caught my attention. Below, Twitchtip's boat snapped clearly in two. She clawed at the scraps of debris for dear life, trying desperately to keep her head above water.

I knew she wouldn't last long, so I steeled my nerve and made my decision. I grabbed the life jacket I had failed to secure around Boots and buckled it around my torso, I hoped I looked confident, but my hands shook. I glanced up at my bond and locked eyes with him, he was as emotionless as me. I took a breath and grabbed a smaller flashlight with a waterproof sticker, flicking it on.

"Gregor! Do not do something you will regret!" Howard tugged at my good arm as I climbed onto the seat and edge of the boat. "You cannot help her!"

I pushed him off, sending him a few steps back. He tripped over some piece of equipment and fell on his ass. "You're the worst of them all. You were down there, and you got rescued. You swore to help all in peril on the water? You should be ashamed." His face finally showed emotion, but I didn't have time to talk it out with him.

Luxa rushed around her cousin and took my hand as I reached out for the boat's edge once again. "I forbid you to go, Gregor. You will not survive!"

I pulled away, though more gently than I did with Howard, but so much anger built up inside me that I couldn't contain my harsh comment. "Not if I have you to rely on for rescue." I climbed completely to the edge of the boat, holding myself in a crouch in order to stay balanced. "Ripred brought her to help me, and I trust Ripred, even if he is a rat!"

I gave them all one more look, glancing up at Ares as well, then threw caution to the wind and jumped.

I had to close my eyes from the start if I was going to make it through the free fall without losing my last meal. A few heart stopping moments passed until I suddenly had a mouthful of black fur. I nearly cheered at the top of my lungs. I shook off the adrenaline as my bond began diving straight for the struggling gnawer.

I was so relieved he had caught on to my plan, I nearly forgot what we were doing. Wordlessly, Ares swooped over Twitchtip and I leaped the few feet into the churning water next to her. We came up on each other so quickly, all I had time to do was open my arms before we ran chest first into each other at full force.

Instinctively, we both wrapped our arms around each other, and I also locked my legs around her long torso. I felt her claws desperately digging into the foam of my life jacket as we made a cycle around the whirlpool's center.

For a fleeting moment, I feared Ares wouldn't be able to snag us from the rushing water in time and we'd be pulled under, until a second pair of large claws hooked into my life jacket. My ribs groaned as the full weight of the gnawer pulled on my torso. Ares's hold of the straps also yanked on my body.

The black flier flapped hard and fast to get us out of the whirlpool's grasp. "Don't-let-go!" Twitchtip gasped as we both fought to hold each other. I could only shake my head in response, after all of this, the last thing I was going to do was let go.

After a few moments in the air, I managed to pry my eyes open from how tight I was squeezing them shut, to see us quickly coming up on the boat. It had been set back into the water I imagine when Pandora couldn't hold the whole weight of the back end of the boat by herself.

My bond got us over the animal skin ledge of the boat and we fell to the floor in a heap of gasping, coughing, dripping mess. Twitchtip managed to dislodge her claws from the life jacket and we separated.

I nearly passed out from all the sensations hitting me at once. My ribs hurt from Twitchtip's death grip and Ares's jerking movements of flapping his wings so hard, I just hoped they weren't broken. I would take bruised, at this point. My arm burned as the bandages had been ripped off and the water had irritated the wounds, but the sight was almost enough to make me hurl.

My entire forearm was covered with sucker spots which had turned an appalling shade of purple and oozed green pus, which I hoped wasn't permanent.

Howard appeared and helped me ease the flashlight from between my teeth before caring for my arm, flushing it with a cool liquid and bandaged it with fresh fabric. "I know this is a bit late, but try to keep it dry." He tried not to smile as the situation was tense, especially after my ferocious comments on his character, but there was something else. Just before he turned away, I noticed his eyes had the same kind of glimmer I've seen in his grandfather, Vikus.

I gave a short laugh out of pure instinct. "Yeah, I'll do that."

Satisfied, he moved on to the rat with a towel and blankets to warm her up, also pouring some kind of medicine into her mouth. She fell asleep almost instantaneously and I wasn't sure if it was from exhaustion or the liquid. "Will she be ok?" I asked.

He nodded, leaning back and looking at the gnawer almost with a glimmer of respect. "Yes, but we must keep her warm. She is a fighter."

I nodded. Boots ran over and hugged my head. She seemed shaken, like she sort of understood what I had done but not enough to fully comprehend. "You got wet, it's no time for a swim, Greggy."

I chuckled under my breath and nodded. "Alright Boots, thanks, I'll stay out of the water now, I promise." She nodded, apparently happy with me, and ran back to Temp.

We all settled down, even though it was a little more cramped than we were use to with all thirteen of us in just one boat, but everyone found a place. I was trying to squeeze out my soaked clothes when Luxa sat next to my boots and handed me a new set of clothing.

I took them from her in appreciation and struggled to peel the wet t-shirt from my body. I finally got it over my head and hung it over the boat's edge, quickly followed by my shorts to leave me in my trunks, when the royal was stretching her hand out to me again. "I made you a sandwich."

I was a little surprised at the sloppily cut roast beef slabs between two uneven slices of bread, but my stomach cried and my mouth almost watered, so I thanked her and tried not to devour it too fast. She hadn't gotten much better at making sandwiches since our first quest, but I'm not sure the gourmet chefs in the palace would appreciate her practicing.

We were both silent while I ate. I was tempted to stop for a moment and put on the new shirt as the breeze coming in was making my hair stand up and goose bumps spread over my whole body. Just as I was contemplating it, Luxa spoke. "Do not be angry with us, Gregor." She sighed, lowering her eyes to a string on her sandel. "Mareth and I have lost more friends to rats than you know, it is hard for us to risk ourselves to save one, even if it is of use to us."

"She." I muttered, anger starting to boil up in my throat again. "Twitchtip is a she, and she's had a bad time too. Rats chased her away because she's a scent seer, she's been living on her own in the Dead Lands."

Luxa seemed impressed by the fleet. "I did not know this."

"Because there's more to someone than their species, if you had bothered to _talk_ or communicate in anyway to her, you'd have a new sense of her character." I snapped as my own guilt swirled in my chest, I hadn't really been a shining example of that either. "She's amazing, she could tell what color shirt you were wearing from the arena, and Ripred brought her for a reason, you know? Besides that...it's just not ok to sit up on your high horse, safe, while she drowns."

I ate some more of the sandwich, mostly to keep myself from talking more, but I guess I understood where she was coming from. Rats had killed her parents and who knows who else she cared about. No matter how honest, it was still an excuse, and I had given up excuses a long time ago. They didn't hold any value, especially to someone who has nothing.

"I should change." I muttered, shoving the last few bites into my mouth and swallowed. I inspected the clothes Luxa had brought me when I suddenly felt her eyes burning on my flesh. I became highly aware of my nudity, and while it was never something I had an issue with before, it was suddenly much different with the royal girl sitting so close.

"You have many scars." She said softly to my back. "I know many battle tested soldiers with less."

I shrugged and tried not to think about it. "The Overland and Underland aren't too different, different types of dangers, but still very hazardous. It isn't easy to be alone in the Overland, any more than it is here."

"Perhaps this is why you felt so desperate to save Twitchtip," She mused, meeting my uncertain gaze with the tiniest smile. "You see yourself in her."

I glanced over at the sleeping gnawer where she had inadvertently covered her sensitive nose in her blankets. My gaze softened when I saw the connection she had made, the torment she endured living by herself, but also the grit and survival needed to life alone in an unforgiving place.

'Maybe.' I thought to myself. Unfortunately, the Overland and Underland really weren't very different.

* * *

 **...**

 **I'm really sorry. I've had the kind of writer's block where you'd rather do anything but sit in front of a computer and type, mostly because of work and Pokemon Go.**

 **I hope I haven't lost too many of you because of my absence, but I promise I will do my best to keep this story going, because I really do enjoy writing it when I can.**

 **Yours,**

 **Artemis.**


	8. Chapter 8

**"Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations."**

* * *

"Boots, time for bed." I called to my sister. She had stopped playing with Temp an hour ago, but I felt better having her sleep next to me instead of on the other side of the boat. She numbly stepped over other quest members laid out on the floor to curl into my good side, quickly falling asleep.

I sighed, twirling the straps of her lifejacket between my fingers where it sat next to her. I didn't put it on Boots again so she could sleep, but it ate at me since that worked so great the last two times. Not that I could even think of what else this Waterway could throw at us, save the whole boat sinking.

Ares landed on the boat's rim across from me, I was glad for the distraction. "Hey, thanks for backing me up, man."

The bat nodded. "You are crazy, but I could not allow you to do something stupid."

I laughed. "Yeah, but I did something stupid, anyway. I'm just glad we did it together." A few moments passed and my smile faded. "Ares, if something else happens, I need you to promise me something."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, save Boots before me. I know we're bonds," I added quickly, seeing him begin to protest. "But if you have to choose one of us, choose her, okay? I've lived, but she's so young. I need to know she'll have a chance to experience life."

He was quiet for a few moments and sighed. "I will save her over you, if I must."

I let out a long breath. "Thank you." I was finally able to relax knowing Temp and Ares were looking out for her. I could never do it by myself, I was too selfish.

"What have you lived through that makes you so accepting of death?" Luxa's tired voice piped up. She was less than a foot off to my left, which is about as far as she could get with the small quarters of the over stuffed boat.

I turned my head to her, her eyes were closed but awaited my answer. "Same as you." I whispered back. She made no response and I closed my eyes.

Later, an unfamiliar warmth against my leg woke me up. I cracked an eye open slowly, adjusting to Photos Glow-Glow's butt. Boots was resting heavily against my chest, allowing me to shake the sleep out of my arm. On the other side, Luxa's head was lulled over against my left bicep. I glanced down at the strange warmth on my leg to see Twitchtip had shifted, curling up against me.

I started to feel very much like the community pillow.

I let out an amused sigh and shook my head, but I guess it was louder than I thought, because Twitchtip jerked awake. She glanced up at me, and when she realized where we were, she tried to scoot way, looking very embarrassed. She didn't get very far, since there was just no room in the boat to go.

"Hey." I whispered to her, trying not to startle her. I knew she probably didn't want to admit it, but I could tell she had ended up next to me on purpose; when I fell asleep, she was in the middle of the boat, not by us in the bow. "Sorry about that."

"There is so little room." She offered back, trying to hide her face.

I nodded, taking advantage of the chance to talk to her. I was sort of hypocritical of the Underlanders earlier when I said no one could look past her fur and get to know her, feeling back about when I called her weird for hiding her nose in the arena. "How long have you been living on your own?"

"Three or four years." Twitchtip shrugged. "It is hard to keep track after so long."

I nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. "Yeah, after I was on my own for around four years, I stopped paying attention to time. I forgot when my birthday was for a while."

Her head lifted. "You lived alone in the Overland?"

"Mhm." I hummed in confirmation. "Ever since I was nine. It's been almost ten years now."

"Were you chased from your home as well?"

I laughed, making sure not to wake either of the girls resting on me. Luxa shifted a little, turning her head into my shoulder. I paused until I knew she was still asleep. "No, I ran away on purpose."

"As a pup?" Twitchtip quietly exclaimed in surprise. "Why?"

I sobered, looking down at Boots, cuddling into my side. "To protect my family. Without my dad, my mom couldn't feed all five of us."

A few moments passed. "Ripred was right about you. He said I couldn't judge you like I do other humans."

"Funny. Vikus told me the same thing about Ripred, now, I think I'd trust him with my life." I knocked my head against the boat, chuckling a little. "Why were you chased out?

Twitchtip shifted. "I was accepted for my ability, then some of them realized I could smell their secrets and no one wanted me around after that. I can smell yours, too."

I frowned at her back. "My secrets?" I could think of a few things but none of them sparked out.

She turned around to finally look at me. "I know what happens when you fight."

My heart beat a few extra times. I never mentioned the strange feeling that took over when I fought, how my vision fuzzed, and how I struggled to wrangle myself back in. "What happens when I fight?" I asked, my voice low and cold, jaw stiff.

Twitchtip tilted her chin up, curious by my sudden demeanor change. "You can't stop, and you put out a scent. We have a name for someone like you, a rager."

"A rager?" I frowned, it just sounded like someone who couldn't hold their temper. My temper was fine, I spent five months living in an alley behind a yoga studio in Portland.

"It's a special kind of fighter. Many train for years to master combat, but a rager has a natural-born ability to kill." I leaned against the boat, looking up at the ceiling to collect my thoughts. "Usually this is where someone argues they aren't a killer."

I turned back to the rat. "I can't, really, it's the first thing that's made sense to me down here."

"Those scars." She nodded at me. "Have you killed getting them?"

"More like the other way around. So, is that what everyone thinks of me? That I'm a killing machine?"

She shrugged. "No one knows yet, or it would have been the first thing I heard about you. It's not a moral judgment, being a rager isn't a decision for you any more than being a sight seer is for me. It just means you can kill, better than anyone, but once you begin fighting...it's very hard for you to stop yourself. Am I wrong?"

I sighed. "Spot on."

"You should talk to Ripred about it, if you get the chance. He's a rager, too, but he's learned to control himself."

I blinked. That actually made a lot of sense, if anyone was a killing machine, it was that gnawer. I took a deep breath to calm my heart from pounding out of my chest. The blood balls, the tentacles, it all made sense.

I tried to take another nap, but I was too jacked up on adrenaline. A few hours passed and eventually, everyone was up. When Luxa started to wake, I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep so she didn't feel awkward about falling leaning on me. Her body heat had just pulled away when a small fist connected with my stomach. I groaned and covered my abs, rolling towards her; I reached out as she giggled and wrapped her up.

Boots let out a louder fit of laughter as I blew air against her skin. I let her go after a moment and the mood shifted. A few arguments broke out about the food, since most of it had been stored on the second boat. We all had to be rationed, but the Shiners insisted on receiving the same amount they were getting before and whined continuously when Mareth put his foot down.

"Why should the girl and her flier get our food?" Zap grumbled. "They are stowaways, allow them to feed themselves!"

I rolled my eyes and accepted my bread and cheese from the guard. Boots scarfed her portion down but wasn't full. Temp gave her his, but she came to me, whining. "Greggy, I'm hungry!"

"Here Boots." I handed her my whole meal, minis a quick bite to the cheese, but she didn't seem to mind. She happily sat on Temp's shell and told the bug a story as she ate.

"You must eat something Gregor." Luxa frowned at me.

I shrugged, I really wasn't hungry. I think my stomach shrunk out of necessity over the years, even though I got use to eating every day at the palace, I only ate what I needed to get full so I didn't over due it. "I'll make it to the next meal, I've gone longer. Besides, I can't deny my sister food."

Luxa sent me a confused look but otherwise didn't comment. "You want this?" Twitchtip held her block of cheese loosely in her claws with a look of disgust. "It reeks of humans, I can barely choke it down."

"Since you don't want it." I suppressed my smile as I caught the flying food. I know she was lying, but I wasn't going to out her. I took a bite and sent her a grateful nod.

"No worries," Howard stood, not sounding the least bit concerned. "We are surrounded by food, we only need to catch it." He lowered one of the nets into the water while the bats dove for fish. I grinned, why didn't we think of that before? Within an hour, we had a good pile of seafood, just no way to cook it. Of course, that didn't bother the bats, Twitchtip, Temp, or the Shiners; they probably preferred it that way.

I was musing with the idea of heating it up on Photos Glow-Glow's butt when Howard finished cutting bite sized chunks out of a fish. "It is not that bad, this is how we eat it in the Fount sometimes. It is not done in Regalia, though."

I nodded. Raw fish wasn't the most disgusting thing I could name that I've ever eaten, and he wasn't wrong, it wasn't that bad. Luxa looked like she was really struggling to get a few pieces down, but she couldn't complain because she wasn't technically supposed to be here. Not to mention, I bet she couldn't accept that she couldn't stomach something her cousin was able to.

Twitchtip put down a dozen fish in a blink. Boots came up, curious to what we were eating, and asked to try it. As soon as she put it in her mouth, she spit it out. "Ew! I don't like it!"

I laughed, glad when I saw some of the sour faces of the quest crack a smile. "Don't worry, Boots, you don't have to like it."

"We're coming to land." The rat paused from her pile of food, her nose twitching in the air.

Mareth looked over his map with a frown. "No...we should not be, not for several days. Oh, I hope the whirlpool has not thrown us off course."

"No," Howard dug in a bag, bringing out a compass. "We are going in the right direction. Can you describe the land?"

Twitchtip's nose wiggled. "A mile around."

"An island?" Howard suggested, pointing to a spot on the map. "I place us here, but there is no island recorded. It has been many years since these waters were charted."

"I believe it is recently formed, it smells of fresh lava."

"Is there life on it?" Mareth asked, readying his sword.

Twitchtip closed her eyes to concentrate. "Yes, but no warm bloods, only insects. I do not have a name for them."

The whole conversation made me feel a little uneasy, so I wrangled Boots over and strapped her lifejacket on. I couldn't help it, the last time Twitchtip didn't have a name for something, we almost drowned and an island with unknown bugs didn't sound promising.

We sailed for another hours. "Can you tell how big they are?" I asked the gnawer.

"Tiny." Ares answered. We must be close if he was picking up on them too.

"But there are millions." Aurora added which did not make me feel any better.

"Can you recognize them, Pandora?" Howard asked his bond.

She shook her head. "No, they are like the mites we encountered on the Island of Shell, but these have a different voice."

Mites, those are like fleas, I think; they bite but eventually die off, unlike ticks that attach and suck blood. I had encountered all of them, none of which were pleasant experiences.

"Perhaps I should do a flyover." Pandora said, glancing over at the growing strip of land. "If they are like bluebits we could get very full." The bluebit comment caused the other bats to flap their wings.

Mareth wasn't sold on the idea, but Howard shrugged him off. "If they are mites, what harm will they do?"

Temp shuttered, his good antenna twitched. "Go, I would not, go."

I looked over but no one seemed to hear him. "Why not, Temp? Do you know what bugs are on the island?"

He shook his whole body and just muttered, "Bad bug."

"There." Luxa pointed as the land was more visible, a small volcano oozed lava from the middle of the island. Some places, the lava fell over the sides like I saw in a documentary on the Hawaiian islands once. It had some funny name, Pahoehoe, or something like that.

Where there wasn't lava, a massive jungle covered the mass; they must be growing off the heat since there was no light, either way they were thriving. Suddenly, a hum seemed to vibrate the whole island. "We should gather knowledge as we pass, it could aid future voyagers if it is a hospitable place for est."

Pandora agreed enthusiastically. "Yes, some of our stronger fliers could make the crossing if they knew they could land here, and there were mites to feast upon." She flew to the island quickly, circling it, and reporting back through a high pitch to the other fliers.

"She says it is safe." Ares translated. "And the mites are more delicious than bluebits."

"Well, you may as well fill your bellies." Mareth shook his head with a small smile. "You join her, Ares, then Aurora and Andromeda will go; I do not like all of you away from the boat at once."

I shook my head, placing my hand on Ares's chest before he could take off. "I don't know...I just don't feel good about this island. Temp says the bugs aren't safe to mess with, I say Pandora should come back."

Howard waved me off, sitting on the leather bench comfortably. "Do not worry, Gregor. Pandora is on the island, Temp is not, and she is just fine."

I glanced at the crawler, who didn't look any more convinced than he was before. "I just don't trust it." I told my bond quietly.

Ares nodded. "I trust your judgement, Gregor." He whispered back. "Andromeda may go in my place." He said to the party. Mareth shrugged and nodded to his bond, who took off with excitement for the possibility of tasty mites.

Andromeda was a quarter way to the island when my fear was realized. A black cloud suddenly appeared from the jungle, engulfing Pandora before she could react. Less than ten seconds later, the mass had stripped the flier to the bone. Her skeleton hung in the air for a moment before crashing into the vegetation.

"Where'd the bat go?" Boots asked. I pulled her down from the height advantage of Temp's shell before she could catch on.

Howard was beside himself. "Pandora!" He screamed, desperately trying to climb over the boat, as if swimming to the island would help. Mareth yanked him down. "Pan! Mareth! Release me! We are bonds!"

"She is gone, Howard!" The guard struggled to keep his hold. "You cannot help her!"

Howard didn't want to believe it, and he twisted out of Mareth's grip, scrambling to the edge again. This only made the soldier mad, and he reached out, grabbed Howard's arm, spun him, and knocked him unconscious with one solid punch. Luxa caught him as his momentum took him backwards, staggering under his weight but broke his fall.

"Andromeda!" Mareth called to his bond, urging her to fly faster. She opened her wings as soon as she saw Pandora disappear, doing a full 180, putting the gas on to get back to the boat. The mite cloud began to chase her, and they were gaining ground fast. "Hurry! They are almost upon you!"

I watched helplessly as she flew desperately, pushing her wings as hard as she could, but the bugs started to jump onto her tail. Mareth gripped the boat frame, his knuckles turning white as he struggled.

Luxa held Howard, her eyes sad as it dawned on her that Andromeda may be next. I shook my head, I didn't want to accept that we couldn't do anything to help her escape these bugs. A memory suddenly flashed to my mind. When I was in Georgia, I accidently knocked down a bee hive. I ran in circles but only got away after I jumped in a nearby pond.

"Dive!" I yelled before I could stop myself. Mareth jumped as I shouted next to him. "Dive into the water!"

I wasn't sure if she could hear me, and Mareth gave a cry of his own. "Dive, Ande!"

Life and death situations seemed to bring on the strangest thoughts, as I randomly decided that it was interesting to hear the prim and proper Underlanders call their bonds by shortened nicknames.

The bat dove under the surface of the water. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, and I hoped it would work out because Mareth trusted me with his bond's life. Andromeda had to come up for air eventually, and just as I started to worry about her coming up, another surprise greeted us.

A swarm of fish jumped from the water, feasting on the small carnivores. The two began to fight, allowing Andromeda to continue to the boat, forgotten. "The ropes!" Marteh ordered as his bond returned. Ares took the back by himself, waiting for Andromeda to catch her breath and help Aurora with the front. We didn't relax until miles were between us.

Andromeda took her time, diving into the water over and over again, for nearly half an hour. Dripping wet, she fell into the middle of the boat, exhausted. "The mites," She panted. "Some of them were eating me, I believe I have drowned them all."

Mareth hugged her neck, I heard him whispering but not exactly what. I helped the guard towel her off, Luxa went through her black and gold fur to apply medicine, but didn't find anymore bugs.

"It was good, your idea to dive." Ares poked my side with his wing.

I rubbed my neck, a little embarrassed by the praise. "Yes, it was very clever to buy Andromeda time with the fish." Luxa added, looking honestly impressed.

I chuckled nervously. "I hadn't planned that, but yeah, I'm glad they showed up."

When we finished helping Andromeda, the fliers all huddled together to sleep; they hardly moved for hours as exhaustion hit all of them. We all fell into silent tasks; Luxa and I made Howard a bed in the nets and held cold cloths to his jaw, Mareth steered, even Boots and Temp played quiet games. The most surprising thing was the Shiners whispered to each other but otherwise didn't say anything, not that I was complaining. Twitchtip didn't do much, just stared out at the water.

Eventually, Luxa and I relaxed at Howard's feet to keep an eye on him. I leaned my head against the boat's side, replaying Pandora's death in my head. I couldn't stop it, I even saw her white skeleton behind my eyelids. I'd bet that Luxa was doing the same.

"Gregor." She whispered after a while, but she may have as well been yelling. "Tell me about the Overland."

Her voice was sad and defeated, she needed a distraction. "Sure, what do you want to know?"

"What is one day like, from rise to sleep?"

I thought about it for a second. I started to describe a sunrise, the sounds of birds, smells of fresh dew, the serene feeling of being in nature. I rambled for a while about nothing in particular, keeping out the filth of big cities, obnoxious noises of honking cars or shouting people, the rude society. I felt her hand wrap around mine, but I didn't feel conflicted, it was support; I needed it, but I couldn't imagine how much she needed it. She knew Pandora for a long time, her death was traumatic, the least I could do I squeeze her hand and tell her about a better time in place.

* * *

 **Hey. Long time, I know. My life is crazy right now, but hey, this holiday week gave me a chance to finally just sit and write. I have a couple chapters written, so expect a consistant update every week.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story, I love it so much, I would never leave it unfinished.**

 **Yours,**

 **Artemis.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Was going to update on Sunday, but I got too excited, so you got it 3 days sooner! Yay!**

 **I do not own the Underland Chronicles.**

 **"Tough times never last, but tough people do." -Robert H. Schuller**

* * *

"Would the Overlanders find me strange?" Luxa asked. I was taking a short break from explaining the Overland to her, my mouth was dry from talking so much.

I shrugged. "The Overland has different kinds of skin colors; there's everything from super pale, like you, to black as stone." Her eyes widened at the idea, I probably just blew her mind since she's ever only seen the uniform, pale skin of her people. "Honestly, you'd probably fit in just fine." I drifted off, thinking about all the interesting characters I'd encountered up there. Yeah, she wasn't most ridiculous looking person I've ever met.

Luxa laughed lightly. "I wish I could see snow."

I smiled at her, even though she had no idea what snow was, she sounded as wistful as a kid from Florida that's never been up north. We sat like that for a while longer, Luxa asked a few more questions about some words she didn't understand, but I welcomed it; it was nice to talk about things that didn't matter in light of the tragedy.

"Pandora?" Howard groaned and shot up, wavering when it was too fast for him and having to grab Temp's shell to hold himself up. He looked around, searching for the fourth bat among the huddle of three as if he had just imagined the whole thing, like the worst nightmare ever. "Pan?"

Mareth put a supportive hand on his shoulder. "You could not save her, Howard. None of us could." The weight of his bond's death seemed to hit Howard hard after that. He fell to his knees, sobbing.

Boots came over and hugged his neck. "You're ok." She told him, smoothing a hand over his hair. She looked up at me. "He's crying, Greggy."

I nodded but couldn't offer the explanation she wanted. Luxa stood and joined my sister on Howard's other side, wrapping her arms around both of them. "She will fly with you always." The big, burly guy lost it then, crying into his cousin's shoulder, she cried silently with him. It was heartbreaking to see.

When dinner came around, I ate my share of fish and gave Boots my meat and bread. Ares, Temp, and Howard did the same to satisfy her. She came to me with a big yawn. "Bedtime?"

"Yeah, little girl, bedtime." She rolled up in my blanket and was quickly asleep. I was grateful, I'm not sure I would entertain her right now.

Howard insisted on steering so Mareth could get some rest. I was almost asleep when Twitchtip made my stomach drop. "We are close, I can smell rats up ahead."

"What of the serpents? Do they still sleep?" Howard asked.

"Yes, but it won't be long now, and they are deadly."

I smacked my head against the boat. That's not what I wanted to hear before I went to sleep. Rats, deadly serpents, on top of my thoughts about killing the Bane. I was trying to avoid thinking too much about it if I could, but now we were coming up on our destination, I couldn't help it. I had to kill something...take a life...it had been years-

"The Shiners! They are gone!" I hadn't realized I fell asleep until Howard's frustrated snarl woke me up, along with him falling over supplies as our boat was covered in pitch black. "Conniving little… Vile creatures, all of them!"

I found my bag and flipped on one of the larger flashlights to illuminate our mobile home. Everyone was moving around awkwardly, not being able to fully see. Mareth jumped up from the sudden noise, patting himself down, looking around like he couldn't find his keys and was late for work; except he was looking for a three foot sword, which would be an interesting thing to see the other guy have if you cut them off during rush hour. "What, what has happened?"

"The Shiners have deserted us." Howard finally got a torch lit to add to my flashlight.

Mareth shook his head. "They were bound for the entire journey."

"By what?" Howard threw his arms up, ranting. "Their honor? They have none! Their word? Just as worthless! Shiners are only bound by their stomach, which we could no longer satisfy."

"Where would they go?" I asked as Luxa put a hand up for Howard to calm down.

"The gnawers." Twitchtip jumped in. "The gnawers will offer safe passage and food for information on our whereabouts. If there is one thing we may look forward to, we will no longer have to listen to their whining."

I chuckled at her, but the Underlanders paused almost like they were taken by surprise that Twitchtip could make a joke. Luxa shook her head with a smile. "Yes, that will be a blessing. A shame you did not eat them."

The gnawer shrugged it off. "Shiners taste nasty, anyway."

Mareth, amused but serious, shook his head with his arms on his hips. "None of us shall miss them, but they have left us in more trouble. How holds the fuel?"

"Not well." Howard sobered quickly. "Much of it was on the other boat. We can get to the Labyrinth, but we will not have many hours of light after that."

"Oh, hey." I dumped my bag out. The remaining four flashlights, a dozen good batteries, and the roll of duct tape fell out. "We still have my flashlights."

"You have the greatest task ahead of you, Gregor. You must keep your light." Howard protested.

I shrugged, there was nothing I could do with four flashlights all at once, unless I could kill the Bane with a badly choreographed light show. "I will, but they'll just weigh me down if I keep them all with me." I was putting the duct tape back when I got an idea. "Luxa, come here. Give me your arm, uh, the non-sword one."

The princess exchanged a glance with the other Underlanders, but stuck her left arm out to me. She was wearing a longer sleeved shirt so I didn't worry about the tape sticking to her skin and being a problem later. I place the plastic cylinder along the top of of her forearm so it would shine over her hand, making sure to leave the on and off switch free. "Now you won't lose it, or have to hold it."

"Oh, yes, Gregor." She maneuvered it with a smile. "This will work fantastic." Howard and Mareth were more willing to take my flashlights when they saw how well it worked for Luxa. I had Howard help me attach the last one to my right arm, I had to put it there since my free arm was torn up from the squid.

"Greggy." Boots pulled on my shirt. "Do I get one?"

I hesitated, the only one I had left was the industrial sized on sitting on the floor of the boat. Then I remembered the mini, waterproof one and pulled it from the side pocket of my bag. I had to use my teeth to made smaller strips to fit her arm and she ran off to show Temp.

I was picking up the batteries when giant walls started to rise up on either side of us. "We will be there within minutes." Twitchtip said with a frown. "Photos Glow-Glow and Zap have done their job, the gnawers are waiting for us."

"How many?" Luxa asked, her face solemn and her eyes flashed with the anger of betrayal.

"Forty seven, in the tunnels above the Tankard." She supplied without missing a beat.

"What's a Tankard?" I asked her, not entirely sure I wanted to know.

"A shaft; very deep, very large, and half filled with water. Serpents hibernate on its floor."

I frowned, there's those serpents again. "The serpents, they're like, a fish?"

"They breathe air, but they can sleep underwater for long periods." Howard added from the rutter. A run in with alligators made the scar tissue around my ankle crawl, I really hoped they weren't giant alligators.

"I can smell it." Twitchtip exclaimed, rising up to her haunches on the very bow. It was the first time I've seen her so excited, well excited was the wrong word, more life heart crushing anticipation. "I can smell the Bane! It's deep in the Labyrinth, there are many layers of stone between us, I'm only getting flashes but...I can smell its whiteness. It's definitely there."

My stomach churned. I secretly hoped we had it all wrong, that the Bane myth wasn't going to be in this lifetime, but clearly I don't have enough pull with the universe; my universe bank account was probably in the red. "So, what's the plan? What are we going to do when we get the Tankard?"

"There are entrances to the Labyrinth in the tunnels above the Tankard," Mareth crossed his arms in frustration. "We were going to slip into one and track the Bane down on foot, but that was before the Shiners gave our position away to the gnawers."

I ran a hand over my face with annoyance as the Shiners, again, messed everything up. "So, plan B?" No one offered anything and I sighed, looking to our sight guide. "Is there an entrance that's better than the others?"

"There is one at the far end, right at the waterline, that no rat has been in for years. It may have been forgotten or is very dangerous, but I can't detect what it would be." She answered a little apprehensively. "We are here."

I turned the big flashlight and the smaller one on my arm and along with the others, did well to light up the calm section of water. It wasn't rough like the main Waterway, flat and unbroken as we sailed through. The walls raised right from the edge of the water, smooth as the structures of Regalia. I saw the tunnels that branched off, and in each one, stood a rat.

Everyone stood still, waiting. My heart beat hard, I'm surprised no one heard it in the silence. I would have bet you could have heard a pin drop. Then, a loud scraping started from every direction, followed by a splash.

Boulders fell from the tunnels into the water. Luxa watched, eyebrows frowned. "This is not right...something is wrong."

Howard's eyes widened. "Get the boat up, get the boat up, now!"

Twitchtip jumped too. "They're waking! Fly!"

"They're waking up the serpents!" I cried, falling to the deck as the boat lurched, the fliers finally getting us airborne, spinning as we gained altitude.

"Where fly we?" One of the three bats asked, frantically.

"Stop spinning so fast and I might be able to tell you!" Twitchtip snarled at them, unable to get her footing in the rocking vessel. They slowed, still spinning, but at a manageable rate. "The one shaped like an arch, there!"

I followed her direction with my big flashlight. It wasn't much taller than me, and we could have swam into it. "It's half under water." I called back to her.

"There is floor further in, this is not the time to be picky!" She yelled back just before a huge crack cut her off.

Something hit the boat, a chunk fell away and sent us flying; I nearly ran head first into the side of the boat. Just a few feet in front from me, I could see down into exactly what we were dealing with. "Oh, man." I breathed, the air leaving my chest in awe.

Below us, something straight out of the paleolithic age snapped at us. An aquatic reptile, oval-like body with flippers and a whip of a tail. It didn't have eyes, so it must have used some other kind of direction like smell or echolocation. One of them let loose a rawr that chilled me all the way to my cells.

"Abandon ship!" Mareth yelled just as another piece of the boat was knocked away. I ran along the length of the boat, scooping up my bag in one hand and my sister in the other. "On the count of three!"

I prepared myself for a jump, the only way the bats could catch us is by letting go of the boat all at once. I heard the dreaded, "...three!" and forced myself to let go. Almost immediately, Ares swooped under my legs, catching us, and quickly bee-lining to meet the falling cockroach.

Poor Temp was shaking so hard, but I couldn't blame him; I'm sure I had so much adrenaline going through my veins, if I ever got a chance to breathe, it'd look like I was having a stroke.

I shook my head, focusing as three beams of light were going full blast. In the cross hairs, I saw nearly a dozen serpents now at the surface, swinging their heads and tails sporadically, without reason. They were cranky from being woken up prematurely. There was no fighting them, I held onto my dad's sword tight and Ares's fur tighter, relying on him entirely to get us to safety.

We dodged heads and tails, same as Luxa and Aurora, Howard and Mareth on Andromeda. It was then that I realized none of us had a certain gnawer. "Twitchtip!" I called, finding her precariously hanging from one serpent's mouth by her tail.

Just before I could call my bond to save the rat, a tail made contact with his left side. It was all I could do to hang on, but the small body clinging to my side was suddenly missing. "Boots!" I yelled, frantically searching for her but the blow knocked my vision too blurry. "Ares!"

"Luxa has her!" He answered back, barely getting the thought out. "Luxa has her and Temp, we must go!"

"The tunnel!" Howard called, blowing past us, clutching an unconscious Mareth. Waves were so tall now, I was getting splashed. "Go!" I called, as if it would help Ares. We started diving and for a moment, we lurched down as if something was pulling us. I panicked, if one of the serpents had grabbed Ares's foot, we were goners.

Whatever it was, we continued to shoot towards the tunnel wall. We were underwater for a moment, both of us coming up coughing, and skidding into the rock floor with a hard thump. I rolled off of him, trying to find my sister.

Howard called me to help Mareth, I barely grabbed the guard with one arm as he fell from his bond, and tried to listen as my assistance was still needed. His one leg was soaked in blood.

I heard something at the tunnel's opening and snapped to it with my flashlight. I didn't see Aurora's gold fur, but incredibly sharp rows of teeth. With anger and frustration of missing my sister, I met the giant mouth, stabbing my dad's sword through its tongue with a shout.

The serpent reared back in pain, yanking my dad's sword from its mouth; I probably only held onto it thanks to the leather strap wrapped around my wrist. The monster smacked its head against the top of our tunnel, sending rocks down at me. I put my hands up and urged my feet back to free me from the debris, a few bigger pieces hit my shoulder blades but I ground my teeth and kept moving.

As I ran back, I noticed Twitchtip had made it, she must have been what dragged Ares down. She was bleeding from her tail, or what was left of the stump, and from her nose; it looked like she ran into something hard and squished it in. I held my sword up in front of her, my mind buzzed with heightened senses. I blinked and shook my head, trying to fight it.

No more serpents attempted to stick their tongues into my tunnel, so I sheathed my dad's sword and jogged to Howard. I fell to my knees on Mareth's other side. "Come on, Mareth!" I yelled at the guard as Howard pushed his chest in a remedial form of CPR.

"His heart beats!" Howard announced. "Gregor, do you have anything in your bag?"

I grabbed the duct tape, but other than candy bars and batteries, I had nothing to stop the bleeding. I ripped my shirt off my body and handed it to him. Howard used one of his knives, or maybe it was Luxa's, and cut it up to cover the wounds. I helped him cut away Mareth's soaked pants. "A serpent bit him as we helped Twitchtip." He muttered to me as he used the duct tape to put pressure on the cut.

"We have to get him home if he is going to survive. Hold this." He grabbed what was left of my shirt and moved to Twitchtip. "Warm him, Andromeda."

The black and gold bat pulled him into her wings. "I must take him home." She muttered, repeating the phrase several times.

Howard cut my shirt more to wrap it around Twitchtip's tail, he seemed to be calming down now that Mareth was somewhat stable. "I apologize for cutting it, there was no other way."

"I was going to chew through it if you hadn't." She waved him off, accepting a handful of my shirt to put on her nose.

"You will have to breathe through your mouth until it heals." She nodded.

I took a breath, closing my eyes to attempt to calm down as my heart ran a mile a minute. "What happened?"

"A serpent crush it with its tail, I can't smell anything." Twitchtip grumbled, tentatively putting pressure on the cloth.

My stomach jumped into my throat. "So...you can't smell...you can't tell where my sister is?"

"My cousin and Aurora are an excellent team." Howard tried to reassure me but wasn't doing a great job. "I am sure they have taken refuge in another tunnel, we will find them."

"Aurora caught Boots and Temp, she told me this." Ares told me, standing now that he caught his breath.

"Yes, I remember their smells all together, but then, there was water between us." The rat shook her head. "Their scents grew faint then...the serpent hit my nose and everything went dark."

"You think they were pulled under?" Howard looked at the floor, his shoulders low.

She shrugged, hunching further like she felt guilty for how sad the information was. "I don't know for sure, but if I had to guess...I'm sorry."

I shook my head, pacing with clenched fists. "This is not so, I will call for her. I will call for Aurora." Ares fluttered out of the tunnel, his frantic tone matching my emotions. I didn't breath until he returned, but one look at his expression, and my blood slowly froze. Starting at my feet, my body numbed. Over my chest, the lines of the prophecy ran through my mind.

 _Die the baby, die his heart,_

 _Die his most essential part._

My resolve steeled, my eyes narrowed; I felt my whole body get tight, every single muscle taunt. They took my little sister from me. Now, they were going to pay.

* * *

 **Look at that, consecutive updates within 3 months of each other. Sorry about that, haha. I love this story so much, and I love writing it, I hope I don't go so long without posting again.**

 **Hope you enjoyed, shoot me your opinions in a review!**

 **Yours,**

 **Artemis.**


	10. Chapter 10

**"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." -Dr. Wayne Dyer**

* * *

 _Die the baby, die his heart_

 _Die his most essential part._

 _Die the peace that rules the hour._

 _Gnawers have their key to power._

I almost could hear the gnawers celebrating as news reached the Dead Lands. Everything they wanted had happened. Boots was gone. What they didn't realize, however, this big brother wasn't someone they wanted to mess with. I had nothing holding me back, nothing to return to, nothing to lose. All I saw now was red.

Red stained white fur.

"Gregor." Howard called. I wasn't sure how long I had been glaring at the opening. "What do you wish to do?"

"Go home." My own voice was distant. Hard, cold, and a little inhuman. "Take care of Mareth."

"And what will you do?" The gnawer jumped in, not ready to leave me alone in the Labyrinth.

I turned and stared down the void. There was nothing left on this plant, Under or Over, that scared me anymore; not even death. "I'm going to kill the Bane."

"Then we will go with you." Howard argued.

I ignored him. "You're not invited."

"You are not in charge of this quest, I have orders from Regalia." I heard him stand but didn't turn to face him. "You cannot face the Labyrinth alone, Gregor."

Finally, I turned around to meet his stern expression. When our eyes met, he flinched at my glare. "Yes, I can. I'm a rager." Out of the corner of my eye, Twitchtip nodded at me.

"And he will have me." Ares added. I glanced at him, he met my callous expression with determination. All I could do was agree.

"And I will lead you as far as I can." Twitchtip stood. "I got a good idea before I lost my nose, I can't lead you exactly to the Bane, but I can get you close."

Howard put his hands on his hips. "Then Andromeda and I will provide support."

"You're bringing Mareth back to Regalia." I told him sternly. He coward slightly from my intensity. "You need to get word back to Regalia, to tell my dad about Boots, about Luxa. They need a new ruler now, you and I know Nerissa can't handle it. Vikus will take over, then your mom, then you. If you die here-"

"Stellovet will be next in line." He sighed.

"Luxa's last wish would be to ensure she doesn't."

His expression fell, knowing he was beat. "Andromeda cannot make the fight back without rest, the Waterway has no safe places to land."

I let my breath slowly out of my nose. "We'll make a floating rest stop then."

"I do not follow."

"There are pieces of the boat in the Tankard." Ares picked up on the idea. "They are not large, but they will float."

I nodded. "We can put a few pieces together to be sturdy enough and hold your weight." I jumped onto Ares's back. "We'll be right back."

"Gregor." The bat called to me as we got out of earshot of the tunnel. "You must breathe. What you are doing is not healthy."

"I'll breathe when that rat is dead." I droned back with no emotion.

"The gnawers have killed every reason for me to return to Regalia as well." He continued. I sighed. Luxa and Aurora were his family, all he had left was me. All I had left was him. I nodded. I knew he could feel it and we focused on our task.

We came back and used the duct tape to fasten the pieces together. We tested it with Ares, Howard, and I at once and it held well. "It shall do for a few hours at a time." Howard confirmed.

Ares came back with some debris from the wreck and Howard nearly cried when he found the first aid kit. "Oh, this is as good as light itself." He changed Mareth's bandages after rubbing some medicine over them, doing the same for Twitchtip, before insisting on re-wrapping my arm as well; it didn't make me want to barf anymore, so that was some improvement. He even reapplied ointment to Andromeda's bite wounds.

I tried to make him take the food we salvaged, but Andromeda said she could fish for the two of them, and Mareth wasn't going to need anything for a while. I sighed and decided I could at least give him this.

The food, flashlight batteries, and candy bars all went into my bag. We wrapped Mareth in the blanket and situated him on Andromeda's back. Howard climbed on. "Fly you high, Gregor."

"Fly you high." I gave him a firm nod. They took off, Andromeda catching the raft with her claws and disappeared down the tunnel. "Been good knowing you." I muttered to myself. The three of us wordlessly turned into the Labyrinth.

Twitchtip did her best to guide us by her memory, several times the shaft would split, sometimes in more than just two options. I could feel us taking way longer than necessary because of the constant twists and turns.

I felt bad for Ares, some of the passages were tight for Twitchtip and I. He almost got stuck once, but we managed to squeeze through with the hope that it would soon open up; he would spread his wings in relief when the cavern would sporadically get larger.

The one thing we didn't run into, were gnawers. "They must have witnessed your sister's fate." Twitchtip commented. "They believe they have defeated you and the Bane is safe."

"They're in for a shock." I grumbled. We walked another hour without talking before taking our first break. "How are you remembering all of this?"

Twitchtip shrugged. "I am familiar with the Labyrinth, I lived here for a year after I was banished." She panted lightly, it was obvious she wasn't doing very good. Her bandages were soaked through, her eyes red. "I lived along the Tankard for a bit, I was collecting mushrooms when a scout saw me. That's when I ended up in the Dead Land; it was the only place left to go."

"That's when you met Ripred?" I asked, finishing a strip of jerky.

"He would let me stay in his nest sometimes, if he wasn't there." She confirmed. "Now he has a group that follow him and he offered me a place if I help you find the Bane. We should keep moving."

I nodded and we packed up. I realized how close Twitchtip and my stories were. She just wanted a place to fit in, somewhere to belong. Ripred was her chance, just like Regalia was for me. I decided the old gnawer had finally gained my full trust. He was brash, sarcastic, but there was good in him; the good that became friends with Solovet and Vikus, that gave pity to a wanderer like Twitchtip. Good that sent her to help me because he believed in both of us.

We had made it a few more miles when Twitchtip stumbled, lost her footing, and fell on her stomach. I kneeled down on one knee next to her, her breathing was shallow. "I can't go further. Up ahead, it splits three ways, but that's where my map ends; your guess is as good as mine."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "And what? We just leave you here?"

"I'll rest for a little. If the gnawers don't find me, I can make it to my old cave, but you have to keep moving. You are close to the Bane now, I know." She gasped a few times. "You need to go, the rats will smell you soon. Go."

I stood but hesitated, deciding to pull out some of the meat and bread left, setting it next to her. I was about to say 'fly you high', when something Ripred said to me once popped into my head. "Run like the river, Twitchtip."

She lifted her head and gave me a grin. "You, too, Warrior."

I looked to Ares and he nodded. We left her in the darkness, bleeding, and exhausted. "She is strong." The bat told me after a few minutes. "To survive in the Dead Land by herself."

I took a breath. "Yeah, I know."

"Killing the Bane will give her sacrifice meaning." I nodded again, fueled to keep moving.

We arrived at the tunnels' split a moment later. "Which one looks good to you?"

The bat opened and closed his wings, unsure. "You pick."

"Uh, let's just go down the middle." I muttered and we continued.

I stopped thinking as we walked. The middle path had no branches and we walked for hours. "Gregor." Ares called, halting us in an open cone shaped room. "It has been many hours since we last ate, we need to keep up our strength if we are to continue."

He was right, so I relented, passing him some stale rations and a drink from the water pouch. I sat with my elbows on my knees, empty and cold, as I thought of what Boots might be doing if she were here. Running along the perimeter of the nearly perfectly circular room with Temp, maybe playing tag. I could almost hear her giggle.

My heart would ache if it hadn't already broken into a million pieces.

I stood numbly just as Ares tilted his head. "What? Gnawers?"

"Two, coming in fast." I jumped onto his back with my dad's sword already drawn. Ares quickly flew to the top of the cone and as he said, two gnawers with muddy gray fur ran in, big yellow incisors bared.

"There he is!" The first one yelled. I rolled my eyes, obvious much?

"We should have never left him with Goldshard." The other growled.

"We'll deal with that later, but now, he dies!" They made futile attempts to jump at us, but Ares was too high to reach. It wasn't a fool proof plan though, Ares was going to get tired sooner or later, then he couldn't fight.

"Now or never." I mumbled to him, getting a short sound of agreement from the bat. "Now."

Ares dove. Just as I was rearing back to strike the second rat, he pulled up again. A third gnawer ran in with distinctive gold fur. "Great." I grumbled to myself at the idea of more of them to fight, only to be thoroughly surprised as the gold gnawer tore out one of their throats. I blinked. "Didn't expect that."

My bond nodded, curious as well. "Don't be an idiot, Goldshard! He came to kill the Bane!" The remaining rat barked.

"I'd rather see the Bane dead than trust you." Goldie growled back, its voice was high like Twitchtip, a female.

They barked back and forth to each other a bit more, jumping into a full out fight. I had seen Ripred fight those rats in the tunnels, but it happened so fast, they couldn't get a shot off before they were already dead. Now, I had a bat's eye view of the fight.

They were ferocious, violently lashing out at each other with claws and teeth any way they can. At one point, the gray gnawer that Goldie called Snare, lost an eye and I could see down to the bone in his shoulder. Goldie's ear was dangling by a hair, and her left paw was clearly broken, almost in two.

It ended when Goldie used Snare's expanded blind spot to bite into his neck, but he didn't give up, using his feet to slash open Goldie's chest. She released his neck and stumbled back. Snare gargled, blood spilling from his mouth as he suffocated.

Goldie, uh, Goldshard, managed to look up at me. "Don't…" She whispered but couldn't finish as she finally stopped moving.

I sat back, stunned. "What just happened?"

"I am not positive." Ares shook, just as shocked. "Snare was one of Gorger's generals, he must have joined the Bane after Gorger's demise."

"Is the Bane king yet do you think?" I asked as we floated down, away from the blood pools.

"Perhaps, but even the Bane must gather an army. Not to mention he has his own enemies among the rats."

I sighed, looking back at the gold rat again. There was something about her, she was begging me to do something. Don't. Don't what? I couldn't hurt her, she was just as close to dying without actually dying as she could get.

Ares's head snapped towards the tunnel again. "How many now?"

"One, I think." Ok, I could handle one. I put my sword in front of me in a defensive stance. A scratching sound began, getting louder and louder until-. It stopped, but nothing came from the tunnel. I immediately knew. "The Bane."

I nodded at Ares. Any normal gnawer would have attacked by now. Another noise, just feet away. In the next moment, I found myself sliding across the smooth black rock from the force of a small object that launched itself at me, like a bullet out of a gun.

I had to let got of the hilt of my sword and it clinked against the floor next to my thigh. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around whatever had hit me. It was soft, warm, and it was breathing. I looked down and found myself face to face with a quivering, baby rat with snow white fur.

"Ma-ma!" It cried, shaking me from my stupor. Wide eyed, I looked up at Ares. I never thought animals were very expressive, but the bat was bewildered. "Ma-ma!" It squealed again.

My mind was spinning. It sounded just like Boots. I had to kill it? I couldn't. "Oh man. Hey, it's okay."

The gnawer shuddered and curled into my lap, crying. "Ma-ma! Ma-ma!"

"Shh. It's okay." I ran a hand through its fur. I couldn't process what was happening, my brain was numb. I stumbled to my feet and pulled myself onto Ares. "We need to go. Now."

"Gregor, do you realize what-who you are holding?" I shook my head. "What are we going to do?"

"Regalia, do you know where it is?" I swallowed hard, my chest tightened, it felt like I was going to pass out. I tried to focus on the soft cries of the baby in my arms, the fur against my bare chest.

Don't.

My breathing quickened, I could feel the lack of oxygen growing; my vision spotted. "Yes, but Gregor-."

"Go, go. Ares, go!" A dozen rats burst through the tunnel, eyes crazed and howling. The bat opened his large wings and flapped them hard. Time felt like it passed in slow motion as we dove into a tunnel large enough to fly through, bobbing and weaving between gnawers; Ares's large wings clotheslined many before they could react.

"Hold tight!" He yelled, spinning and changing direction. I clung to him with my legs, one arm around the Bane, the other holding on to his fur. My dad's sword was wedged between my ribs and my elbow, my bag flapped in the air behind us.

Don't.

Everything was moving too fast, my flashlight beam flashed along the walls where the rock passed by so quick, there was no way to tell where we were. Below us, teeth and claws missed by inches, some by less.

"Gregor, the sword!" Ares shouted as we came out of a barrell roll. I flipped the hilt into my hand and stuck it blindly into the air. Shrieks and cries followed but they disappeared behind us.

On top of everything, the Bane continued whine. "Ma-ma!"

"Make it stop! It carries over distances, the gnawers will hear us from all directions!" I struggled, my mind swimming through the soup of what use to be my brain; how do you sooth a baby rat?

I thought back, Goldshead was its mother. Her last moments popped into my mind. Don't. Don't kill my baby.

Save it.

* * *

 **Hello again :) I missed you all. Good news, I started on the 3rd installment! I have the name, and I'm kind of excited about it, I think it pulls the whole theme in nicely, and you may learn something ;) How about, if I get 5 reviews, I'll give you a spoiler?**

 **Until next time!**

 **Yours,**

 **Artemis.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I do not own the Underland Chronicles :)**

 **"Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it." -Unknown**

* * *

I had to channel my inner momma rat as my bond raced through the tunnels of the Labyrinth, or maybe we were in the Dead Lands by now. I tried to sing Boots's lullabies but my tone deficient voice didn't seem to sooth it at all. I pulled at my bag, searching blindly until my hand closed around one of the candy bars.

Using my teeth, I tore the wrapper off and spit it into the wind. I unceremoniously shoved a piece of the chocolate bar into its mouth. It was surprised at first, but was happy to chew on the sugar. "More!" It called, just like Boots would have.

I swallowed my emotions hard and satisfied it. After I gave it the treat, the Bane relaxed into my chest and calmed down. I never let out a larger breath of relief. Ares flew into an open cavern, at the bottom, three dead rats. My heart fell. "No, no, no."

"I cannot lose them, they track us easily." Ares stuttered, flapping frantically as he struggled to find a solution.

My head swam. I could hear gnawers running through the tunnels, quickly getting closer, surrounding us in sound. The Bane snuggled against the crook of my bad arm. My bad arm. I clumsily unwrapped the bandages from my sucker wounds around the pup. "Fly by the smaller paths." I told Ares, rubbing the soaked strips along the entrances and every inch of the wall I could reach.

"They are coming!" He warned.

"Go! Lower right!" I yelled tossing my bandage into another opening and ducked down so we were more aerodynamic. The gnawers' scrapping and fighting grew distant as Ares flew like a jet down the corkscrew tunnels.

We burst into an open area with a stream. "I must drink…"

"Yes, go. I think we're safe for now." I ran a hand over his neck, my muscles just as tense as his. I adjusted the Bane to cradle him in my arms and slid of my exhausted bond as he collapsed, nearly sticking his whole head in the water.

My legs almost totally gave way as soon as I touched the floor, but I managed to cross them and not jostle the now sleeping gnawer. I couldn't look at it. "Where do you suppose this stream leads?" Ares asked suddenly, strength coming back to his voice.

I sighed and closed my eyes, my vision was still spinning. "I don't know, a bigger stream? Maybe a river, or eventually-" My head snapped up as I understood his point. "Down that way." I nodded towards the direction the water was flowing and he gave a confident one back in agreement. "Are you ok?"

He wordlessly lowered his shoulder so I could crawl back on and we were airborne again. For the first few miles, it didn't seem like the theory was true, when Ares spoke up. "A river." I didn't see anything at first, then a cavern, bigger than the one I fell into during the Prophecy of Gray quest, appeared.

"Do you want to take a break?" I asked, the idea of finally getting out of the Dead Lands helped me relax just a little.

"In a bit, I want to put more space between us and the gnawers." I silently agreed, sparing the baby rat a glance. As if on cue, it turned in its sleep, showing innocent features. "You may rest, I will wake you."

All I could do was obey, turning to lean my head against his neck. The Bane whined in its sleep when I tried to move it off my chest and onto Ares's fur. I thought it would have been more comfortable on the bat's soft fur, at least more familiar with it than my bare chest, which was distinctively hair _less_.

I felt Ares start to descend before he spoke to rouse me, I had pretty much mastered resting but never really falling asleep. "You may recognize this place." He said.

I frowned, pointing my flashlight down. A fissure stood with a rushing river running through it. As we landed, I noticed the stone pillars and rope at the edge, but no bridge to connect to. It hit me like a truck. "Tick." The name escaped my lips in a breath. Ares nodded. "It will be safer on this side, the only entrance is the tunnel, or swim the river, which we know if full of flesh eating fish."

"Yeah." I pulled my dad's sword from the sheath, holding the Bane with my bad arm; the wounds had thankfully scabbed over so the rat's fur didn't bother me. "Go ahead, I'll keep watch. You deserve some rest, you were amazing."

"As were you." He said quietly, already falling asleep as he spoke. The bat fell against the wall, out like a light. I decided to turn my flashlight off, if anything came down the tunnel, I would hear it and turn it back on.

I stood for a while but the Bane weighed as much as a healthy Bulldog, and I ended up sitting, the small rat in the space between my legs. He moved towards me again, missing the contact. He was a lot like Boots when she slept, always curling into my side, seeking warmth. I thought I would cry, I did when Tick died in this very spot, but I had yet to shed any for my little sister.

I stared blankly into the nearly pitch black void, a small amount of illumination coming from the water below. I didn't have anything left, Boots took it with her when she fell from my arms in the Tankard. Luxa's story of not crying since her parents died came back to me, this is how she must have felt. Hollow. Emotionless. Numb.

Subconsciously, I started rubbing the baby's ear; it was so soft, my nerves so fried. I barely heard when Ares woke up. I wasn't even sure how long it had been, I was just glad nothing came from the tunnel, I'm not sure I would have been able to defend us. He flew down to the river and brought back fish, the non-flesh eating kind thankfully.

The Bane woke up at that point too, happy to munch on chunks after I roughly chopped them up with my dad's sword and removed the bigger bones. Lord, he was picky. Just like Boots.

We started walking through the tunnel, back tracking our original quest's path. We came to a more open area and off to the side, the shell of a spinner sat. Treflex. Neither of us wanted to rest here, so we kept moving, walking through the path that dripped foul smelling water on us. In minutes, we were all miserable. The Bane whined for Goldshead, Ares limped along, scraping his wings in the small space; out of all of us, I was the best off with sore arms from carrying the baby rat.

Ares was just short of gleeful when we reached an area he could fly, and so was I that I could sit down after such a long time. "Rest, I can fly for some time. I will wake you." I nodded and passed out as soon as I layed flat on his back. I'm not sure if he was tired or just slept because I was, but the Bane was asleep too when I woke up. Ares told me it had been probably six hours and I almost wanted to scream that we weren't to Regalia after all that time.

We found a fresh stream and an isolated platform with no tunnels. Ares flew down and got fish. I repeated the process of cutting them up for the Bane and he ate ten fish by himself. With no food left from the rations, I dug into the fish as well.

Ares took a few hours to sleep and we were off again. My mind was blank as we flew and at some point, I fell asleep sitting up. Bright lights surrounded us and I jarred awake as we coasted over the grain fields outside Regalia.

We were flanked by guards on fliers. High Hall was a buzz as we landed. Vikus walked in, followed by Solovet and Ripred a moment later. The old man pushed through the guards, shoo-ing them out and closing a curtain over the door frame with strict instructions to not let anyone in.. "Well, well, look who made it back! How was my darling Twitchtip, leave her in the Dead Lands, did you?"

I met the gnawer's sarcastic tone and pulled back grin with what I'm sure was a vacant expression. It was obvious none of them could see the Bane in my hands. I slipped down Ares's back, the Bane started to sturr from his latest nap. I slipped the last candy bar into my pocket. Moving in front of the three of them, I grabbed the rat by its scruff, holding the pup out to the older rat.

Everyone stopped, shocked. "The Bane." Vikus whispered in awe. "A pup."

Ripred recoiled from me as I stood in front of him with the Bane, wiggling uncomfortably and trying to free itself from my hold. "What do you expect me to do with it? You were suppose to kill it."

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't."

"Obviously!"

I glared him down, not in the mood for his shit. "Would you kill a pup?"

He frowned and gave me a once over from head to toe. " _Die the baby, die his heart._ "

" _Die his most essential part._ " Solovet finished, her voice low. "Take it far from here, quickly."

"There will be hell to pay." The old rat warned me.

I shook my head. "I've been there, I can handle it."

Reluctantly, Ripred leaned forward to snatch the Bane's neck in his jaw. "Wait." I called as he turned. I pulled out the candy bar and handed it to the baby rat. It squeaked with happiness and started chewing the snack, wrapper and all. "Be good." I told him and he reached out to me, squeezing my finger in his claws. Ripred got down on all fours and sprinted away with the Bane in his teeth.

Everyone was silent. I slowly cast my gaze to the old man. "Can I take a bath?"

* * *

 **Well, kind of a boring chapter, but I still enjoyed it.**

 **Unfortunately, we didn't make the 5 review mark for a spoiler, but I'll give it one more chance. The spoiler would be the next story's name, because I have no idea to do a sneak peak and nothing I've written so far seems entertaining enough, haha.**

 **I thought it was interesting that there were a few people that didn't want a spoiler, and I respect that, so I think just the title would be a good compromise :)**

 **Drop a review, I'd love to hear from you. (that rhymed :P)**

 **Yours,**

 **Artemis.**


	12. Chapter 12

**"Work hard in silence . Let your success be your noise." -Frank Ocean**

* * *

Vikus let out a short laugh, it sounded almost crazed at the sudden change in topics. "Yes, Gregor. I will call for Dulcet to retrieve you new clothing, how ever did you lose your shirt?"

My hand ghosted to my chest, I forgot it was still bare. "We had to use it to take care of Mareth's wounds-Mareth! Did Howard and Andromeda get back?"

The two suddenly got silent. "Yes, they have returned, some hours before you." Solovet answered eventually.

I frowned, that didn't sound good. Did Mareth not make it through the journey? "How is he? Mareth didn't look too good when they left."

"Mareth will mend." Vikus paused, looking to his wife for a moment. "Howard and Andromeda are on trial...for treason."

"What!" I hadn't meant to growl, but the idea of the two of them, after making so many sacrifices for me and the quest, were given anything short of a hero's welcome made me see red.

"Gregor, calm yourself." Solovet raised a hand at me, her expression was soft but stern. "Our new interpretation of the prophecy may yet save them, but we must make haste."

"Why were they charged for treason in the first place?" I demanded as we walked. The two seemed to forget about getting me a new shirt, so I walked through the hallways of the palace in just my tattered blue pants; I saw some female servants about my age look away with red faces and necks, Underlanders weren't good at hiding their blushes.

"They returned from their quest without seeing the end." Solovet said neutrally. "They abandoned their mission."

"Because I told them to!" I countered. "Mareth had to get back to Regalia or he wasn't going to survive!"

"We understand this, Gregor, but Howard made the decision by himself; no matter the threat on his life, the choice of returning was made with his own free will."

I shook my head but let out a breath through my nose to keep from snapping again. "I don't agree with you." The tip of Ares's wing came down to nip at my ear. Covering it in surprise, I looked up to see him shaking his head, probably trying to tell me I was being disrespectful. I sighed, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Sorry."

The old man stopped us just outside a stone archway, a small smile on his face. "I am sure Howard and Andromeda will appreciate your passion for their defense." He put a hand on my shoulder with a proud smile. "You will be asked to tell your story, are you prepared for this?"

I nodded but hesitated, feeling oddly exposed when I saw rows of people out of the corner of the doorway. "Do you think I could get a shirt, first?"

Vikus laughed and Solovet turned to the guard at the threshold who quickly left to fulfill the order. "We may wait here until he arrives, if you wish."

"No, let's get in there." I said and walked through the door before I lost my nerve. The room was like the one that I saved Ares from banishment, but it had a long table with three chairs up front, probably for judges, along with an elevated throne, and a stone cube that was visible from everywhere.

Every seat had a human or bat in, no row was empty, and they reached all the way to the high ceiling. Every head turned as we walked in, the short silence broken with murmurs and non-discrete pointing; my scars and unattended wounds felt hot from all the attention.

I put my focus on Howard and Andromeda. They were bound by their hands and Andromeda even had a rope around her wings, forcing them down as if she would try and fly away. It looked like they didn't get a chance to bathe, eat, or at least change; they looked like shit.

My heart sank. They were in this mess because of me, they fought for me and gave up so much, and now they faced punishment. I couldn't let this happen.

Before I could do anything, a door opened and an old man, older than Vikus which I didn't think was possible, and an equally as aged white flier, took two of the chairs. Behind him, an old woman walked in with scrolls and took the center seat. "May we expect Queen Nerissa?" She asked though I wasn't sure who she was directing it towards.

I looked to Vikus who had suddenly disappeared. I blinked, he's pretty sprite for an old guy. "Nerissa is queen?" I whispered to Solovet as quietly as I could, for once, I didn't want the attention on me.

"She was crowned as soon as Howard informed us of Luxa's...demise." She faltered with the explanation, obviously losing her granddaughter wasn't easy on her, I can't imagine anyone taking it harder.

"They are checking now to see if she is well enough, your honor." A guard replied.

I frowned and looked to the older woman again. "Nerissa is frail, Luxa's loss and quick responce of being named queen took its toll on her." I nodded, not feeling very good about the outcome of this trial; in my experience, Underlanders around the age of these judges haven't been very flexible.

"Does the Warrior plan on joining the crowd?" The old woman asked as she set out all her scrolls. She gave me a look over. "And is there a reason he does not have a shirt?"

I stepped up. "I don't have a shirt because Howard used it to bandage Mareth's wounds, which he would have died from if Howard hadn't saved him from the serpent attack, and by returning to Regalia to get him medical help." I emphasized his actions and he sent me an appreciative glance.

The woman didn't seem to welcome my embellishment but accepted the answer. It was silent for a while as they went back to their scrolls, not worried about taking their time. The guard reentered and whispered to the judge, coming to me with a blue shirt to match my pants. I pulled it over my head as the woman called the trail to begin.

"Your honor," I stepped forward more, already in the middle of the room. She looked at me, not expecting me to participate. "Am I allowed to speak on their behalf?"

"Warrior," She frowned at me. "It is not our custom to call out inquiries during a trial, especially one so serious."

"Sorry." I didn't back down or honestly feel bad about interrupting her reading. "I'm in better condition to give the story, Howard and Andromeda had to fly across the entire Waterway while taking care of Mareth."

She turned away from me and back to her scrolls. The three of them traded hushed words and I was called to the stone cube of questioning. I expected an onslaught of questions but the woman leaned back in her chair and calmly waved a hand towards me. "Tell us about your journey."

It threw me off a little but Vikus did warn me it would be expected. I sat up straighter in the stone chair. I tentatively started when we set the boats down and began to sail, no one stopped me to fast forward so I continued. I told them everything, the squid attack, whirlpool, the island; I saw many look away with sad expressions as I forced myself to replay Pandora's death. I took every chance to describe Howard and Andromeda's courage, especially with my squid wounds.

Finally, I got to the Tankard and gave my best even voice. "I made Howard leave, I didn't give him a choice, I was going to fight him and Andromeda if they didn't go. They went home so they wouldn't risk hurting me when I still had to kill the Bane."

"And why would you not want them to accompany you?" The bat spoke for the first time.

"Because they needed to get Mareth back, and I didn't want a bunch of us in the small confines of the maze. Ares hardly fit through some of those tunnels, we would have been sitting ducks if gnawers attacked, there was no room to fight as a unit." I paused to think and tried to sound sad. "I wanted my family to know what happened to my sister, and me...if I didn't make it back."

Everyone seemed a little moved by my last sentence, able to understand the reasoning. I ground my teeth as I thought of how I lost my sister, and she wasn't even the baby in the prophecy. I looked up, meeting the old woman's gaze, a little proud when she flinched from my cold glare. "And the Bane was mine. I was going to be the one to kill it, no matter what."

My voice sounded alien even to me as that same feeling of nothingness overwhelmed me that I felt when I first lost Boots. "It was my quest, and my call who I wanted in the maze. If you kill Howard and Andromeda because they came back, that's not justice, it's murder. No one was better on this mission than they were."

There was a tense silence, only interrupted when Vikus entered with an even more delicate looking Nerissa than I remember. She wore an elegant gown that drug behind her, pieces of hair fell from an updo, and no crown on her head. "Queen Nerissa, are you well enough to attend this trial?" The judge asked, trying not to sound disrespectful.

"Oh, yes. I have seen myself here before." She said with a weak nod. "Although I do not know the outcome."

I sighed, it was that stuff that made the Underlanders exchanged worried glances and the room hummed quietly with hushed words. "The charge is treason?" Nerissa asked a bit skeptically. I realized she didn't really know what was going on.

"Yes, the defendants are on trial for treason." The head judge slowly rubbed her eyebrow while she pretended to look at a scroll.

Nerissa glanced around the room, not really looking at anything. "Forgive me, I have only just awaken."

"Do you wish us to start the proceedings again?" The old woman asked.

"Oh, no. Continue." Nerissa curled her fists in her gown, pulling it up to her knees, her whole body shook. Vikus wrapped a shawl around her shoulders, she looked up at him with a wispy smile. "I wish I had some soup."

I had to stop myself from smacking my hands against my forehead. She wasn't helping her case any, saying stuff like that. The judge looked to me. "What occurred after you sent Howard and Andromeda away?"

I rubbed my eyes for a second and told them about leaving Twitchtip, and the fight between Snare and Goldshead. The crowd reacted when they heard Snare was dead, I guess he was pretty well known. "Just after Goldshead died, the Bane ran into the cone and ran into me." Everyone perked up, excited to hear news that the quest succeeded in finding the Bane and killing it. "It was crying, yelling for its mother. It wasn't a ten foot killer like you told me. It was a baby."

Nerissa was on her feet faster than I thought she was capable. "A baby!" Honestly, I was a little surprised she had been paying attention. "Oh, Warrior!" She stumbled down the steps on the throne, holding her dress in one hand and waved the other. I quickly hurdled the short distance of the cube to meet her, afraid she would fall on her face. Her hands gripped the collar of my shirt, fingers cold as ice. "You did not kill it, did you?"

I felt the air tighten as everyone curiously waited for me to say yes. "No." Gasps exploded from the audience in protest. "I didn't kill him, Nerissa. I couldn't. I gave him to Ripred to take care of."

She collapsed against me in relief, a huge sigh racked her frail body. "Oh, oh," She patted my shoulder. "Then we will all be saved."

Nerissa rocked in my arms, back and forth, laughing like the picture of madness. ' _She really needs help._ ' I thought. Vikus came up to help me, asking Nerissa if she wanted to lay down.

She gripped his shirt with a smile. "The Warrior has fulfilled the prophecy. The Warrior has fulfilled the prophecy."

"Queen Nerissa." The judge objected. "He did not succeed in killing the Bane, he did not fulfill the prophecy."

"The baby lives, so does the Warrior's heart." Nerissa told her.

"The gnawers do not have the key to power." Vikus finished for her. "This is what Sandwich meant all along."

"The baby in the prophecy was never my sister." I continued, my head hung low as the reality of my sister's death hit me, tears streamed from my eyes freely. I stood, clenching my fists and tried to keep my face hidden. "It was the Bane. Killing a baby is the most evil thing a person can do; if you can kill a baby, what can't you do?"

"So says your heart, your most essential part." Nerissa put a hand on my shoulder either to steady herself or as comfort.

I suddenly got extremely angry, I lost my sister: poor, innocent Boots who never got a chance to live life, experience love, go to college; all because these people misinterpreted the ramblings of a psychotic fool.

" _What could turn the Warrior Weak? What do burning gnawers seek? Just a barely speaking pup. Who holds the land of Under up._ " Vikus quoted more lines of the poem.

"The gnawers have always sought the Bane." The old man judge said, more to himself than anything.

"Who is just a barely speaking pup, Sandwich even went so far to use the word 'pup', the gnawers' word for baby." Nerissa continued.

Vikus nodded at the girl. "And the Bane holds the land of Under up, if Gregor had killed it, total war would erupt. The gnawers would have rallied around its death. Taking the pup to Ripred was a stroke of genius, my boy."

The audience reacted again, but I hardly heard them. I hadn't moved. "Queen Nerissa, are we to continue this trial?" The judge asked.

"Of course there will be no trial! The Warrior has saved the Underland." She leaned away from Vikus's help, standing on her feet almost by herself. "And all who helped him are to be held in our highest regard."

Howard and Andromeda bowed their thanks as guards moved forward to cut them free. In the chaos, I wiped my cheeks and took a deep breath, trying to look like I wasn't crying.

"Will you four dine with me? You look half-starved." She joked, the irony not missed.

"Can we bathe?" I asked numbly. I really needed some time to myself. I felt almost choked by my own filth in a way I never experienced in the Overland, and there, I could months without bathing sometimes, it probably hadn't even been two weeks since we first left.

Vikus said something but I had officially tuned everyone out, following him to the baths where I had been several times. I glanced over at the adjacent washroom, I could almost hear Boots giggling as Dulcet gave her a bath.

A guard walked in behind me, placing a fresh set of clothes down on the stone bench. I nodded in thanks, waiting for him to leave before stripping. I grabbed a towel and slowly sunk into the warm water. I didn't bother cleaning my hair with soap since it was so short, just sitting under the short waterfall pounding against my neck.

I closed my eyes and tried to meditate. The yoga instructor that owned the building I hid behind in Seattle saw me following along with her sessions from the back window and invited me in from the rough northwestern weather. She gave me soup and taught me the ways of the Hindu exercise. I tried to meditate often and recenter myself, so if I ever needed it, I could calm myself down. Now was one hell of a time to recenter.

"...Gregor?" A female voice called but I didn't really hear it. "...Gregor are you in here? Gregor."

I opened my eyes to see the soft, concerned face of the baker's daughter. She hand her hands on her hips, eyebrows frowned in worry but also annoyance; I'm sure she had been calling my name a few times before I actually heard her. "Hi." I greeted her, not able to push myself to smile even for her.

Her eyes lessened in intensity but she didn't relax her posture. "Gregor, you need to get out of the bath. Vikus says you have been away for nearly two hours, Nerissa awaits your arrival for dinner."

"Sorry." I muttered, hanging my head and slipping a little further into the water.

"Gregor." She sighed and moved to grab my towel. "Get out of the water."

I glanced up at her. "I can't...I don't have any clothes on."

She rolled her eyes. "I would hope so, yes. I will wait in the hall, but if you are not out in five minutes, I am coming in if you are clothed are not." Serenity paused to give me a pointed look and turned to disappear outside.

I sighed and smacked my head against the stone rim. A few moments passed and I decided to listen to my girlfriend, climbing out of the bath and wrapping the towel around my waist. I changed quickly and met her outside. Wordlessly, she wrapped her arms around my neck. Her warmth and calm aura surrounded me, I broke down right there.

I cried into her neck, tightening my arms around her waist and she held me just as steady. I let everything go; my frustrations, my pains, the sorrow, and regret for putting Boots in the situation she didn't need to be in.

Serenity ran a hand over my neck and up into my hair, rubbing soft circles on my scalp. I felt her lips press against a spot on my neck. Slowly, the tears stopped but I couldn't pull my arms from her small frame, I wasn't ready to let go in case I suddenly lost her too. She allowed me the luxury, and I don't know how I got so lucky to have her.

Just as I was preparing myself to release her and let her bring me to dinner, I heard a faint voice down the corridors. I lifted my head and craned my neck to look behind us. "Do you hear that?"

She frowned and glanced over my shoulder. "The singing? It is most likely Dulcet with the children."

"No…" I took a half step away from her, one hand falling off her waist. I listened harder, ignoring her attempt to bring my attention back. I heard the voice again and my eyes widened. "That...that's _Hey Diddle Diddle_ …'Ren, that's Boots!"

I grabbed her hand and sprinted through the halls, not sure where I was going but listened to the angelic voice, allowing it to pull me randomly until a larger room opened up. At the very edge of the opening, surrounded by half a dozen giant crawlers, was my baby sister.

She turned at our entrance and shot me a grin. "Hi, Greggy!"

* * *

 **I'm not sure if I'll update before Christmas, so Merry early Christmas! Or whatever you celebrate!**

 **It's been kind of hard to work on my computer because I just got a tattoo on my thigh. I love it, it's a mandala in the shape of a crescent moon, because I'm a moon child, obviously.**

 **Anyway, there's only a few chapters left in this story! One, actually, haha. I'll probably get that out around New Years, then it may be a few weeks before I release the third installment because I want it to be perfect for you all :)**

 **Yours,**

 **Artemis.**


	13. Chapter 13

**"He nods, as if to acknowledge that endings are almost always a little sad, even when there when is something to look forward to on the other side." -Emily Griffin**

 **So, if that quote didn't say it, this is the last chapter of the second installment of the Runaway series, Refugee! Stay tooned for info on book 3!**

* * *

I let go of Serenity and sprinted the hundred meters between us, falling to my knees and sliding into a hug with the small girl. My momentum launched us forward and we flew almost all the way to the edge of the palace. The only reason we didn't skid right off the lip of the stone ledge is thanks to the circle of crawlers.

"Greggy!" Boots giggled, wrapping her skinny arms around my neck as we glided along the floor. My heart swelled at the sound and I couldn't help but grin so wide, it hurt my face.

"Hi, you. Oh, hi you." I laughed, holding her tighter. "Where have you been, little girl?"

"We went for a swim, and then Temp gave me a fast ride, oh! And then, Greggy, a big butterfly gave me a ride! I got to ride a butterfly!" She gushed to me, prying herself away enough for me to see her excitement.

My mouth fell slightly, but how could I be surprised that there were giant butterflies if there were giant bats. "Oh man, you had a lot more fun than me, little girl." I shook my head. "Temp-" I looked back at the group of crawlers that were with her, searching for the bent antenna. "Where's Temp?" I asked, even I could tell Temp from the nearly identical bugs, and he was nowhere to be found.

All six of their antenna dropped. "We do not know, not we." One of them finally spoke up. "I be Pend, I be."

I wrapped Boots up and stood, turning around to inspect the whole space. Temp, Luxa, and Aurora were with Boots when she fell into that tunnel. No one else was here other than Boots and unknown roaches.

Vikus appeared with guards, looking hopeful when he saw my sister. "They have returned!"

My chest tightened as I had to break the news. "Just Boots, Vikus. I'm sorry."

His face fell but he straightened his robe and turned to the crawlers. "Welcome, Pend. Many thanks for the return of the princess. Tell you, us, the fate of the others?"

The roach didn't seem to know a whole lot, just that a moth, apparently not a butterfly after all but no less gross, landed in their territory with Boots on board. It was in the Dead Land when it flew across her and Temp hiding. My roachy hero was so weak, he couldn't make the trip, but he begged the moth to bring Boots to the crawlers. I guess the moths and cockroaches were allies, so it agreed.

Pend said when a rescue party went to look for Temp, he wasn't there.

"What of my granddaughter, Queen Luxa?" Vikus asked, hope starting to slip into his voice again. Boots wiggled in my arms, pulling on my shirt sleeve. I handed her to Serenity who could better entertain her.

"Run you, Queen Luxa said, run you." Pend answered. I was suddenly curious if everyone just assumed Luxa was the official queen, despite not being officially coronated, or if the humans made them all think she was. Maybe the Regalians did that to scare the other species, I can't imagine no one wouldn't try to attack a leaderless city, especially the gnawers, if they found out there wasn't a definite ruler. "Many gnawers, there were. Temp said no more."

"Temp took a nap." Boots jumped in, having heard her friend's name. "Where is he?"

"Still asleep Boots, he was really tired after your ride." I answered quickly. Unfortunately, I probably wasn't lying.

More fast paced footfalls turned the corner, and my dad burst into our increasingly crowded atrium. "Where have you been?" I snapped. I didn't see him when I came back, and it looked like everyone knew I had arrived, or at the trial when I was on the stand.

"I had to leave after you started your quest." He put a hand up but wasn't defensive, like he understood why I was mad. "I had to pretend I was at a teacher's conference and field all of your mother's worried calls."

I took a breath and relaxed my tense muscles. I guess sometimes I jump to conclusions too fast. "Oh, yeah. Good idea."

Dulcet walked in through one of the hallways and took Boots from Serenity. "Are you ready for a bath, Boots?" She gave me a reassuring glance and a nod, walking away while holding my sister's hand, listening to one of her long stories. I took a breath and told myself it was Dulcet, I could trust her. I did trust her. My dad squeezed my shoulder and followed the nanny.

"They did not perish in the Tankard." Vikus said, trying not to focus on the looming negatives. "Let us meet in the dining hall, Boots shall be very hungry after her bath. Crawlers, follow you, our guards, follow you? We give, rest and food, we give in thanks."

The roaches agreed happily and disappeared down one hallway while we headed down another. Dulcet met us in the private dining room just as the food arrived. Boots sat in my lap and ate enough food for a family of four.

"Boots," I struggled on how I should word my questions. She didn't seem traumatized by her experience in the Tankard and Dead Lands, but I had to be delicate about it since she was still only eight. "You remember the...dinosaurs?" I asked, she probably wouldn't recognize the word serpent.

Her face scrunched up in disgust. "I didn't like those dinosawrs. I like the skinny one, at the muwsem."

Normally, I would have laughed at her failed pronunciation, but this was serious. "Me, either. Remember when they knocked you off of Ares? And Luxa caught you and Temp? Where did you go?"

"We went for a swim! But it was cold, and I bumped my head, look." She gingerly pointed to the top of her head. Through her curls, I could see a red circle where she must have scraped it against a rough surface.

I remembered when Twitchtip said the tunnel we should go through was half full of water, but there was ground further in. Luxa must have made it to that channel. "Boots, did you see rats?" Vikus jumped in while I was in thought.

"Twitchy." She said. "She had an owie." She touched her nose with one hand and covered it with the other.

"Twitchtip?" I almost smiled, if Twitchtip found them, then she made it after Ares and I left her. "Any more rats, Boots?"

She shook her head, frowning and crossing her arms. "Temp and I went on a ride, a fast, fast ride." Boots shut off after that, poking at her uneaten food. I sighed, she was done talking about it, now.

Vikus realized this too and leaned back into his chair, a hand rubbing his chin. "They were attacked by gnawers, no doubt. Luxa held the line with Aurora while Temp ran with Boots." He paused and gave a long sigh, suddenly looking his age and then some. "There odds were not good, I am sure."

More like zero. "Well, if they had Twitchtip, they could get out of the maze. The gnawers could have recognized her and took her prisoner, too. They might try to trade her for the Bane."

My encouragement, well sad attempt at encouragement, didn't do much to help the old man fight back tears. "Hope." He whispered.

"Don't give that up, just yet." I told him. He gave me an appreciative nod.

"We must return your sister and father to the Overland." The old diplomat stood to shake my dad's hand. "I have arranged some...what is it, money? For your travel. Fly you high."

My dad took the wad of cash gratefully. I stood, putting Boots on her feet and sitting in front of her on one knee. "Bye, little girl, I'll see you soon."

She nodded with a smile. "See you soon, Greggy! Going to see mama, and Lizzie, and granma!"

I laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Yes, but remember, no talking about me to mom."

Boots nodded, faking seriousness. "No talking about Greggy."

She ran off to give Serenity and Dulcet a hug, leaving me with my dad. Don't get me wrong, I idolized my dad before he disappeared, but it was still a little awkward to interact with someone you had pinned as dead for nine years.

He pulled me into a rough hug, his dense muscles made it a little uncomfortable. "Make sure you keep those letters up. I need to know how Mareth does."

I nodded. "I will. And um, dad. Thank you for...the sword. It really...saved my life a few times during the quest."

Dad grinned and wrapped me into another hard hug. "You don't know how happy that makes me. I spent half a decade collecting the materials for that sword. I made it just for you, it was my hope that one day, I'd be able to give it to you."

I swallowed, my chest tightening as I didn't know how to respond. Boots ran in between us and broke my nerves. Dad scooped her up and we said goodbye again. He climbed onto Ares and my bond opened his impressive wingspan, taking off to bring them to the Overland.

Vikus excused himself, along with Dulcet, leaving Serenity and I. She wrapped both her arms around my right one. I shifted and wrapped it around her waist. We stared at where they had disappeared for a few moments in a comfortable silence. "What will you do now?"

I took a deep breath and looked down at her vibrant violet irises, a small smile already on her face, as if she knew my answer already. "I'm going to find our Queen."

* * *

 **STOP. SPOILER AHEAD.**

 **OKAY so if you don't want to read the first 300 words of the 1st chapter, skip to the next section of bold text!**

 _"Gregor, if you do not look at me, I will not kiss you for a fortnight." I've heard her trying to get my attention for the last ten minutes, but I couldn't pull my eyes from the parchment map. I was trying to figure out the Labyrinth from what I remembered and occasional input from Ripred, but the Dead Lands were almost entirely uncharted._

 _I may have been practically living in the map room, not eating very much, and ignoring my girlfriend in the process._

 _I sighed and stood, my palms flat over the corners. I tried to turn to her when my failures hung so heavy on my shoulders, that my head hung uselessly. Tears started to flow from my eyes, steadily becoming a common occurrence; most the time I didn't have an audience._

 _I was an emotional wreck. I am an emotional wreck. Ever since Boots and my dad left about two months ago, I spent every waking hour I could in this room, pouring over the maps and trying desperately to find an escape route Luxa and Aurora could have taken._

 _If I could just prove they had a way out, I could give Vikus hope his granddaughter was alive._

 _Serenity turned my shoulders and wrapped her arms around my neck. I felt bad because I have relied on her so much to keep me sane, yet I ignored her tries at conversation, attempts to take me to the dining room for meals, and her affections. I don't know why she still tries._

 _"I'm sorry." I muttered into her hair, it smelled like flowers but I didn't know how because I never saw flowers outside of those jungle areas around rivers in the Dead Lands, and I doubt Regalians went to the Dead Land to risk their lives for shampoo scents._

 _She rubbed my shoulder blades sadly. "I know. I miss her, too."_

* * *

 **OKAY spoiler over. I felt like adding that, since there isn't any kind of epilogue to this book. Anyway, the name will be revealed when the new story is posted, but it's a fun pull on the English language, I think you'll like it.**

 **A HUGE thank you for everyone who reviewed or just read, I appreciate everyone, you all are my favorite people of all time.**

 **Hopefully I'll see you in book 3.**

 **Yours,**

 **Artemis.**


	14. Chapter 14

Hey all, just to let everyone know, I publish the 3rd installment!

It's name is _Redient_ , and I hope if you enjoyed this story, you'll check _Redient_ out.

Drop a review and let me know what you think, I'll take criticisim or praise, whatever you got!

Yours,

Artemis


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